The Light Kingdom Chronicles
by WobbliestCrab
Summary: The past will always come back to haunt you, a phrase well-known to Concord Blast. After his liberation from a gash in time a dark force has returned with him, and it is growing stronger everyday. Only Concord and his allies can stop it, but the odds are stacked against them every step of the way. The time has come for war...
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction to be uploaded on my account. Before you start reading, please take the time out after reading to review my work. I have worked on it for about a year now! So thanks for your time and I will see you at the bottom of the page! -WobbliestCrab**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles:

Prologue:

Many a pony has said that your past will always come back to haunt you. None knew this as well as Concord Blast. Concord ruled the vast Kingdom of Light, an empire renowned throughout history for its arcane and technological prowess. For thousands of years, possibly even a millennia, did Concord Blast reign as high king. But not even his province was safe from outside invasion...

17th of July, 0 BNM.

Not much was known about this particular date, for any form of record of it had been lost to time, but Princess Luna knew about it all too well, as did her fiancé. It was the day she lost the thing she held dear, Concord. It was only a day before their arranged wedding date, and Concord was called to go along with his army to fight in what was thought to be the most destructive battle in Equestrian history.

"I saw bodies everywhere, some mutilated beyond any form of recognition. I saw mega spells raining down from the sky like snow during the pegasi winters, and I saw her, standing there in the very middle of the carnage. The anger I felt was indescribable" — Concord Blast: battle log 1114.

When the two enemy leaders engaged in the combat many ponies thought to end the war, the rivals did not account for the amount of power left in their amour gems, which were both at a devastating low. Just when the conflict began to turn in Concord's favour, the opposing fighter managed to break the king's defensive over-shield and crack the power gem. Concord then acted out a display of self sacrifice, sending whatever remained of his power into his mighty sword. He struck the ground, opening up a massive gash in time. He booted his enemy into the void and followed suit to finish the job.

No one ever saw Concord Blast or Darknia for another 10'000 years.

**So yeah this is what hopefully kicks of this epic tale! Review and tell me what you think about the story! But please no hate! Still thank you all for reading and I will see you all soon! -WobbliestCrab**


	2. Chapter 1

**This is Chapter 1, it will be your starting point for the main story itself. So enjoy! And as a small side note, all chapters from now on are subject to serious change. But thankfully I have only made minor changes as of yet to this chapter, such as different descriptions for the ponies as one of my fellow authors informed me that the names of colours were far too complex to understand, so they have been changed as to make it easier for the viewers. Anyway, I will see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!**

**-WobbliestCrab**

Chapter 1: The Hero awakened.

Ponyville: Present day. 11:54 am, Sunday. Eve of Nightmare Night.

Celestia's sun had risen only a few hours ago, and was now rising slowly above the Equestrian plains. In the downtown section of Ponyville laid a tiny orphanage and a small filly was standing outside, tapping the ground with her foreleg impatiently. "Come on Scootaloo! How long does it take fer ya tah get yer backpack ready?!" called the southern sounding filly.

This small earth pony had a pale yellow coat and a cherry red mane and tail. She also had a large red bow in her hair, which was covered by a caving helmet.

A few seconds passed and the young pony was clearly impatient with her friend's tardiness. Another minute went by before Scootaloo trotted out of the orphanage with what appeared to be a large assortment of caving gear similar to what her friend was wearing. "Applebloom do we seriously have to go now?!" Scootaloo asked irritably. Scootaloo was a filly Pegasi with a slightly pale orange coat and a lightish purple mane and tail. In answer to her friends inquiry, Applebloom nodded eagerly and grabbed her friend, she then began to drag her through town towards the building known as Carousel Boutique.

After knocking on the door, Applebloom could hear the sound of hooves approaching from behind the door. Her secondary friend, Sweetie Belle, was the one to answer. Sweetie Belle was the younger sister to Rarity Belle, the owner of Carousel Boutique. Her coat was the same white as her older sister, but her mane was a combo of pale white, purple and deep purple colours . "Please remind me why I had to get up at this hour?" asked the unicorn filly. Applebloom reached underneath her caving hat and produced an agenda for their week. Underneath the Sunday section were the words 'caving'. "Don't ya remember that we agreed to try and get our caving Cutie Marks tahday?" Applebloom asked bluntly. Sweetie Belle groaned and went to get her saddlebags, as she levitated them onto her back she muttered to herself, "it's gonna be a VERY long day".

Ponyville mountains: 1:55pm, Sunday.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had slowly trekked their way up the mountain for quite a while, and now their objective was right in front of them, a cave. Applebloom flicked on the light atop her helmet and ordered the other two to fall in behind her. The fillies did so diligently and then proceeded into the dark depths of the cave.

The fillies ducked low as they had to be wary of the stalactites hanging from the roof. Applebloom's guiding light ensured that they navigated safely through the nooks and crannies of the cave. As the three young mares turned a bend, of any inconvenient times it could happen, the light on Applebloom's helmet flickered slightly and then died altogether. The fillies screamed and huddled tightly together.

For a few minutes they worked on calming themselves down. Finally, they ceased the screaming and took in their surroundings, they couldn't see much, until Sweetie Belle noticed a faint pulsing glow emanating from somewhere up ahead. "Girls, look!" she whispered in both fear and excitement in hopes of it being a resolution to their predicament. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other and nodded. They slowly trotted towards the strange light, and they found was something nopony would ever expect inside a cave like this.

Whatever the heck it was, the CMC couldn't make heads or tails of what purpose it served. The object was circular with multiple gears and cogs showing from the sides and with three blue spheres arranged in a triangular fashion were nestled in the inner section of the object, the rest of the strange item was made up of gold and silver. The trio of ponies gazed upon it in awe. Scootaloo, without realising it, had walked up rather close to the object. "Scoots, what in the hay are ya doing?" asked Sweetie Belle nervously. Scootaloo didn't take heed of her comrade's question and ran a hoof along the rim of the sphere closest to her. And suddenly, the outer layer of the object began to turn and glow at an alarming rate. Scootaloo cursed under her breath and backed away as the ground began to shake. By now, the other layers of the device had started turning in opposite directions to one another, and an ominous humming began to waft out of the machine. The circular panels then started to seperate themselves from each other and rose upwards. All that remained where the panels were once locked in, was a room with a spiralling portal in the center of its courtyard. The girls dared to venture fowards, but soon backed away when the wind began to increase in speed. Ancient dust swirled around, making the CMC have to cover their muzzles as to not suffocate. Then there was a flash of blue light and the wind calmed. In the middle of the room now layed a gold robotic looking stallion. On closer inspection, the fillies noted his pony type, one of the rarest kind, an Alicorn. His face and legs were covered by his armour, but his wing colour, which had armour running along the leading edge, told the young ones that he was prussian blue. Thanks to his mane and tail poking out in designated slats showed he had deep brown hair. A blue crystal gen was interlocked in the front of the breastplate. "Is he dead?" Applebloom questioned to nopony in particular. Sweetie Belle examined the circular item and tapped her hoof against it. Suddenly, a loud hissing noise escaped from the segments in the armour as the helmet and leg covers retracted into the main section. This revealed his cutie mark, which was a grey cloud with two criss-crossed lightning bolts behind it, strange markings were surrounding the cutie mark itself. Another press of the gem transformed the armour into a disc with the gem in the middle. The stallions face was now showing, his eyes were shut tight and his mouth hung open slightly. But that didn't last long because the Alicorn stallion's eyes sprung open revealing aqua green irises. He sprang to his hooves and sent the Cutie Mark Crusaders in panic. The three young friends galloped away, only to be drawn back by a levitation spell from the stranger. He raised the three up to eye level (considering his height that's 6 and a half feet up). The Alicorn stared into the trio's eyes and began yelling out: "Niva pocrestikeet jang dan ala matré kal munsa Luna?! KAL MUNSA LUNA?!" He continued yelling a little less loudly, the terrified fillies clamped their eyes shut. "Bah veshno da bujojaya mah seemi dra moona koa! Dra mooda kileva doth backoou kea vonceau!". After realising he wasn't going to get an answer, he abruptly dropped the fillies and galloped his way out of the cave. Leaving behind three unconscious Cutie Mark Crusaders.

End of Chapter 1...

**So that was the first chapter of what may hopefully become a popular fanfiction! And if you are thinking that Concord's first words are complete gibberish, that's because it is gibberish! There's a fun fact for you all. Please leave your thoughts and suggestions in the review below, but also please no hate. So with my A/N done, I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello once again guys! Chapter 2 is now live! Chapter 3 will be published as soon as possible but I promise that will be very soon! Like always, leave your thoughts and comments down below in the review section, minus any hate, and let me know how well I'm doing! Every comment helps! Thanks! And I'll see you at the bottom of the page! -WobbliestCrab.**

Chapter 2: United under Luna's moon.

Ponyville: 7:32pm: Sunday. Nightmare Night

"Where the hay could she be?" pondered the ponyville farmer, Applejack, as she strolled through town with a worried look on her muzzle. This mare had a light brilliant gamboge coat and a blonde mane, a Stetson hat rested atop her head, the cutie mark upon her flank was a triangular assortment of three apples. The mare was obviously worried. Applebloom, or any of her friends for that matter, hadn't returned for quite a while, approximately 8 hours. Applejack had already checked in with Rarity and the Ponyville orphanage to see if the trio had passed by, both answers were a desolate no. The reason she was in town was to endeavour for her friend, Twilight Sparkle, to see if she could help.

"Applebloom would never be this late for Nightmare Night" Applejack thought to herself as she neared Golden Oaks Library. She rapped urgently on the door to the Library/tree house. A few seconds later, a small robot answered the door. Applejack knew it was Twilight's assistant, Spike, a purple and green baby dragon, who was wearing an intricately made cardboard robot costume. "Hey Applejack! Whatcha doing here tonight?" the dragon asked. "Is Twilight here? Ah need her help, the CMC are late and ah'm starting to worry for the girls" the mare explained. Spike replied "sorry, but she's with Celestia and Luna right now in the town square". Applejack sighed and turned around and galloped away; after saying thank you to the robot dragon.

Applejack squeezed her way through the crowd that had gathered in the center of Ponyville, she could hear someone yelling loudly, a lot louder than what a normal pony could. "Mzina dal boky makh il farné!" the voice hollered, which belonged to a deep blue unicorn stallion with a brown mane. A leather cape was laden across his back. The crowd was teasing him by saying things like 'sorry what was that?!' and 'speak up, I can't hear you!'. The blue stallion was flustered and attempted to speak their language, but to no avail. The ponies in the crowd laughed until a strong shout in their language quietened them down. "All righty y'all move along! Leave the stallion alone a'right?!" yelled Applejack. The crowd knew better than to mess with the Element of Honesty, and they soon dispersed. Applejack, after giving two lingering mares a death stare, she turned her attention back to the blue unicorn. "Okay, whoever the hay you are, can you please tell me your name?" she asked calmly. The tall stallion struggled and said with a very odd accent, "C-Cloade F-Fla-ash", he knew this wasn't his real name, but given the fact of who he was, it was for the better. "Well that's one problem outta tha way Cloud Flash. Mah name's Applejack. Ah'm gonna take you to the Princesses, Luna and Celestia. They'll help ya" the kind mare offered. Cloud Flash's ears perked up at the sound of the name 'Luna' and nodded in anxiety. "Woah okay there feller, calm down thar. Just follow me to the Princesses" she guided. She then trotted away with an anxious Cloud Flash in tow.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" called Applejack from the outside of town hall. Nopony had seemed to notice the cry until an Alicorn answered the door. She had a mane composed of moderate sapphire blue with moderate violet and brilliant rose streaks and had a lavender coat, her cutie mark was a six pointed pink sparkle. "Oh hello Applejack! What can I do for you tonight?" the Alicorn inquired. "Twilight, yer highness, ah need to see Luna and Celestia, ah got a stallion here that is speaking gibberish and three fillies missing'!" Applejack blurted. "The CMC are gone? Actually that's not much of a surprise. This has happened before" Twilight said, "still, I'll get you the Princesses, your companion looks a bit on the anxious side". Applejack thanked her friend deeply and then Twilight shut the door. A minute or so later, she trotted out calmly and presented the duo of royals; besides herself. Cloud Flash gasped and bowed in utmost respect. "Noko te savas dakoten il noma, Luna" the unicorn said. Luna displayed a look of fear on her face as she heard the words pour from Cloud Flash's mouth. "It can't be... no...NO...NO!" the night deity hollered. The Princess of the Night spread her wings and took flight hurriedly. Cloud Flash followed close behind on hoof.

Cloud Flash seemed to have extensive knowledge of the Everfree forest, this obviously showed as he galloped over and under fallen trees and torrential rivers. He could see a building off in the distance as he launched himself across an expansive river, surprising a water serpent as he did so. "My moo-stache!" the serpent cried as he saw Cloud Flash speed away.

The 'unicorn' soon discovered Luna crying inside of old Canterlot, murmuring in a language Cloud Flash knew but chose to hide.

"Thou can't be alive, there's no possibility of thou being able to still live" the Night Princess sobbed to herself. "Oh dearest Luna, I can assure that I still tread mortal plains" Cloud Flash said calmly. Luna whirled around and blasted a beam of compressed night energy at her 'deceased' love. Cloud Flash ducked his head and let the spell pass over him. "So that's the hello I get after being stuck in a time vortex for 10'000 years?!" the blue alicorn asked. Luna was panting heavily as she struggled to comprehend what was going on. "They told me that you were dead, nothing but ashes and dust" Luna explained. "Well it seems that they bucked up that fact" Cloud Flash replied. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?" Luna then asked. Cloud Flash undid the string holding his leather cape together and let the garment fall to the ground, allowing his wings their freedom "some secrets are bit hard to hide" the king said. Luna chuckled and approached her fiancé. "Thou always were a mischievous one Concord" she said. She looked deep into his aqua green eyes and then planted her lips upon his, the moonlight casting its glorious rays upon the reunited lovers.

End Chapter 2...

**What can I say? I'm a sucker for romance! Leave your thoughts down below yadda yadda yadda. But as always, I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's Chapter 3 for all you fine people! Like I always tell you wonderful readers, please leave your thoughts in the review box below. Also Chapter 4 is ready to be uploaded and will be released in probably a few hours. But anyway, I'll see you guys at the bottom of the page! -WobbliestCrab**

Chapter 3: Cutie Mark Crusaded.

12:21 pm: Sunday. Ponyville Mountains. Nightmare Night.

Four mares galloped their way up the incline of the mountain the CMC were last seen. Those mares were the likes of Twilight Sparkle, Rarity Belle, Applejack and a fourth known as Rainbow Dash, a cerulean furred and rainbow maned pegasus mare. "AJ! Are you sure this is where they were going?!" called Rainbow as she soared past the upper caves. "Ah'm as sure as Celestia's sun shines sugarcube!" Applejack replied, "Applebloom said they'd be here!". As the four mares rounded another bend, Rarity noticed an odd streak of blue fly past high overhead. 'What on Earth was that?' she wondered to herself as her hooves urged her to press on.

Concord looked around as he stood at the entrance of the cave only seconds ago did he pass the group of aforementioned ponies. Luna landed behind him and folded her wings. "It's a good thing I have a photographic memory" the Alicorn noted to Luna as they slowly walked into the dark formation. Luna fired up a light spell and kept close to Concord, "and it also be a good thing that thine knows arcane lights" she countered cheekily. Concord chuckled and continued his trek, stopping every now and then to remember the route he had taken in his haste of leaving the cave, and the CMC, behind. Soon, he could see a small fading light ahead; obviously pony-made. "I believe that's them" Luna whispered. Concord slowed and tip-hoofed towards the light and found three fillies sitting around a dying torch, which Scootaloo had discovered in the depths of her bag. Upon noticing his presence, the Cutie Mark Crusaders screamed and ducked behind anything that could serve as cover. "Come out dears, you're in safe hooves" said Luna in a silky voice. Concord noticed his armour disc laying on the floor, the blue crystal glinting off the torch that was now abandoned on the rocky surface. He levitated it back onto his chest, where it sort of magnetised into place. He pressed the blue crystal and his armour expanded out into pre-complete mode. He shivered as the metal slid along the edge of his wings but soon got over it as the armour clanked into place. "Princess Luna? Who's the Iron Stallion knock-off?" asked Sweetie Belle. Concord scoffed indignantly and decided to let Luna do the talking for him. "Thy fillies, thou request that you please keep a secret for us" Luna informed. "Us?" asked Scootaloo. "Yes. You see, the alicorn that standeth next to thou is my fiancé, from 10'000 years ago, Concord Blast" the Alicorn of the night revealed. The CMC did not speak for a good minute, ransacking their brains in an attempt to figure out what was going on. Without notice, Applebloom bowed down towards Concord and then uttered the words: "your majesty". Her friends did the same soon after. Concord patted Applebloom gently on her head "never before have I seen such reverence from a pony your age, remarkable" Concord said. Scootaloo looked up and saw a shining object inside Concord's tomb. Concord noticed it as well and trotted up to it. Buried in a rock was a beautifully crafted sword with a winged hilt of gold and a ornate blade of silver and sapphire. "It seems this stood the test of time after all!" Concord chuckled. He wrapped his two front hooves around the hilt and tugged on the weapon and soon, the rock shattered and the sword was free. "Mister Blast? Why did you yell at us before?" Applebloom asked. Concord knelt down and replied "I apologise for that. I was a bit... on edge, so to speak. Considering I was gone for so long". The CMC acknowledged his predicament and without warning, walked up to Concord and embraced him in a warm and calming hug. Concord, naturally being one of an iron will, felt as his heart melted from the affection he was being shown. "Thank you" he whispered.

Approximately 1 hour later:

"I still can't thank you enough darling! The boutique wouldn't be the same without Sweetie Belle!" Rarity earnestly said. "Hear hear" added Applejack warmly. Concord smiled, it was nice to know even after 10'000 years, ponies were still just as caring as he remembered them. Luna had to leave a few minutes prior to this conversation, probably royal business. "I thank you for your appreciation, but I must go. I need to inspect my tomb thoroughly, I sensed something was off whilst I was there" Concord Blast said. The alicorn had used an illusion spell to hide his wings and had informed the mares who he was, under the condition that they never reveal his secret to anypony; Pinkie Pie especially. Concord rose from his seat, only to be stopped by Twilight. "Concord, I hope it would be okay if I looked at your armour disc for a while. It's actually quite fascinating" the fellow Alicorn said. Concord considered this for a moment before igniting his horn and levitating his precious possession over into the careful hooves of Twilight. "I will have to get acquainted you mares later, as well the town" Concord noted out loud as he trotted out of the building that was Golden Oaks Library.

2:34am: Ponyville Mountains.

As Concord looked around the circular room, he recounted his former life. He was just going through a lovely memory of his proposal to Luna when an eerie voice rang out to him. "I am quite surprised you still live. After what I did to you" it said as a swirling black and purple vapour cloud formed in front of Concord. "Well, it appears my sacred blade wasn't the only thing that survived all those years" Concord grimaced. "Oh I survived all right" it said again before adding: "I honestly do not wish to waste my well deserved time with a failure of a king, so I shall make this simple. You will not meddle with my plans like before. Every time you do, I'll bring back an old enemy of yours from the war". Concord was unfazed by the threat presented to him and snickered "oh how the wheels of fate turn Darknia. Believe me, returning them to mortal plains will only rally more to fight back" he said. Darknia growled and the vapour cloud disappeared. "Coward as always, she'll never change that one" Concord grumbled, the disguised Alicorn turned around and exited the cave, and leaving his supposed final resting place behind.

Canterlot Astronomy Wing: 3:45am. Monday.

A very enchanted Princess Luna sat at a desk in the study room with an assortment of books floating before her, enveloped in a sparkling indigo aura. "Tia will probably freak out when she hears this!" she whispered excitedly to herself. The Night Princess was taking a look through a book on Equestrian marriage, she wanted to be united with her fiancè soon. The very thought of losing him almost brought her to the brink of tears. Anyway, the Night Princess was humbly scrolling through another book when she felt a looming presence behind her. "I never thought I'd see you so happy, after he left you" somepony said. Whirling around, Luna drew an ornate dagger from her flowing indigo mane (and I mean literally flowing, the thing is like a cloud for bucks sake!) before having the tiny blade thrown from her grasp. "Didn't they tell you to never play with sharp objects?" Darknia cackled. "What is filth like you doing in a place of peace? I thought you were gone!" Luna retaliated harshly. "Only to tell you that one thing. Stray from Concord Blast, or I'll make you become my puppet, again" Darknia threatened. Luna gasped as images of Nightmare Moon flooded into her head, causing her to wail in agony and fear. "Yes, very good" Darknia mused before leaving in a whisp of smoke, not a trace of her to be found. Luna emitted a low growl and regained her footing, picking up her dagger as she did so. As she hid the dagger back into her mane, a knock was heard at the door. "Your Highness! Are you alright?!" called one of the royal guards. To which Luna replied, "yes guards. Return to your duties!". The guard then turned around and continued his nightly patrol, his hoofsteps fading by the second. "Concord's return now may be not the only that'll make Tia freak out" Princess Luna muttered worriedly.

End Chapter 3...

**So there you guys go! What will happen now that the enemy has already began her plans of doom and destruction? But anyways, reviews are appreciated and if I did something that doesn't make sense please let me know so I can correct it. Thanks and I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! -WobbliestCrab**


	5. Chapter 4

**So here's Chapter 4! Chapter 5 is almost done so hold on! Like every other author's note or whatever, leave your thoughts in the review below without the hate factor. That's all from me for now! See you guys at the bottom of the page! -WobbliestCrab.**

Chapter 4: Making their acquaintance.

Ponyville: 9:23 am. Monday. Golden Oaks Library.

"So can you please tell me why you called for my aid Spike?" Concord (aka Cloud Flash) asked the small dragon as the two neared the tree house/library. "Let's just say Twilight was experimenting with your armour" Spike started as he opened the door and added "then this happened". Cloud Flash was forced to hold back a rising fit of laughter as he was greeted with the sight of Princess Twilight Sparkle stuck inside his golden armour, completely stripped of her locomotion. "A little help?" Twilight deadpanned as Cloud Flash trotted up to the trapped mare, as simple press of the crystal allowed the armour to retract and free the fellow Alicorn. "I apologise for misinforming you about my armour's safety mechanics" Cloud Flash said as Twilight stretched her stiff legs and back, numerous popping and cracking sounds emanated from said body parts. "There's no need for apologies. It was actually kinda comfortable in there, nice and toasty" Twilight said and the two ponies laughed at the humour of her statement. After calming down, Cloud Flash spoke up and said puzzledly "I actually never really heard much about you, besides your name that is. Could you possibly tell me a bit about yourself?" Twilight happily obliged and showed Cloud Flash to a seat before exiting the room. She returned with a pile of scrapbooks and a tray of tea and biscuits. "Well since you asked so nicely, I'll be happy to tell you everything you need to know" she stated warmly. "It all started when I was only a filly, I'd say over ten years ago when I was only four-"

2 and a half hours later...

"-so then that brings us back to today, with me and you sitting down and having tea" Twilight finished. Cloud Flash clapped his hooves together, then taking a sip of his tea and saying happily "well you seem to have quite a few notches under your metaphorical belt Princess Twilight". Twilight replied equally as happy "why thank you Cloud Flash, I've never met a pony with an attention span quite like yours before! By the way... if you don't have a roof over your head, do not hesitate to come here. I always have a guest room on standby!". "Well thank you Miss Sparkle, I accept your offer, and don't worry, I'm a heavy sleeper" Cloud Flash advised as he removed himself from his seat and headed for the door. "Sorry I have to go, I have planned to meet your other friends today" Cloud Flash noted. "There's nothing wrong with that, I'm sure my friends will like you very much!" Twilight complimented as Cloud Flash left the library, but just as he left, Twilight called for him again. Cloud Flash re-entered the knowledge archive to find Twilight holding his armour disc. "Ha ha, I knew I forgot something! Thanks again Twilight Sparkle!" he said and waved goodbye as he left (again).

Carousel Boutique: 12:05am.

Concord whistled to himself a tune of happy qualities as he walked past a small house and rounded the corner ahead. He was shocked by the structure that now stood before him, it was of middle ages design and was pristine in every architectural way. "I can only guess who lives here" Cloud Flash chuckled. The disguised alicorn trotted up to the building, and again politely knocked on the door. Almost instantly, Rarity had opened the door and had dragged Cloud Flash into her luxurious abode. Rarity had Cloud Flash, still slightly fazed by the speed the transition had completed itself in, stand on a podium. In an over-ecstatic manner, Rarity tied a fancy brown bandana around his neck, the gold trimming flashing under the buildings ornate chandelier. "Care to inform me in what you are hoping to accomplish?" Cloud Flash asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Well I simply couldn't just leave you with JUST a thanks last night, so I took the liberty upon myself to make you this wonderful bandana!" Rarity answered. Cloud Flash smirked as he left the podium he stood upon, taking note of how well the bandana concealed his armour disc. 'A disguise like this will be most helpful when I'm in public' Concord thought to himself. His ponderings were soon interrupted as the fashionista mare then placed a pair of Steampunk looking goggles on his head just below his horn, the leather and brass complimenting each other nicely. "So could you, by any chance, tell me a bit about yourself Miss Rarity?" Cloud Flash asked. "But of course dear!" Rarity replied happily, clapping her hooves together excitedly. "Well where can I begin? Oh yes, it all started when I was just a small filly, no older than Sweetie Belle probably-"

1 and a quarter hours later...

"-in thus bringing us to the present day. Oh goodness! Where did the time go? Please excuse me darling, but I must finish an order for one of my clients, but I do hope you'll visit again soon" said Rarity in a hopeful voice as she began to start cutting away at some fabric (how she did that with hooves is beyond me, considering she's a unicorn and all). Concord smiled as he bid farewell to Rarity and the Carousel Boutique, now with two visits complete. 'I probably should look for Applejack next, then that quiet pegasus will follow' Concord documented in his brain before galloping away from Ponyville towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Sweet Apple Acres: 1:30pm.

"So ah heard ya wanted to make mah acquaintance" Applejack said and added "that's mighty gentlecoltly of yeh mister Concord". Concord quickly corrected the farming mare "it's just Cloud Flash out in public AJ". Applejack smirked as the two continued along the dirt path towards one of the three apple orchards. "I'll tell ya about mahself once we start workin" Applejack noted, Concord agreeing soon after.

Sweet Apple Acres 2:50pm: Family barn.

"I'm pretty sure I got more!" Concord protested for the billionth time, and to again receive a nonchalant "nope" from Applejack, The two had been partaking in a little contest AJ came up with, whoever collected the most Red Delicious Apples before the Apple Family retired to their homestead would win a subtle amount of twenty bits (or twenty dollars for all you non-bronies). Undoubtedly Applejack won mostly due to her experience in applebucking, Concord of course did not have the required sums of money to balance the bet, so instead Applejack made it that he would have to listen to Vinyl Scratch's wubs for half an hour. Concord could tell that kind of music wasn't in Applejack's good books. Maybe it was because Vinyl Scratch almost destroyed the entire Sweet Apple Acres West Orchard with her bass cannon. Concord looked at a clock hanging on a wall outside the barn, noticing the time, he politely bid the Sweet Apple Acres family goodbye and left for the next mare on his 'to meet list', Fluttershy.

Ponyville Animal Care: 3:00pm.

Concord knocked on the door, again, and waited... again. He had only been here for two minutes, but was already slightly annoyed. "It's not like I have something IMPORTANT to do!" he yelled. After waiting for five whole minutes, the stallion gave up and began to search for the second last mare, Rainbow Dash.

Ponyville meadow: 3:13pm.

Cloud Flash was happily trotting his way into the meadow, hoping to find the pegasus, when a massive rainbow shockwave erupted from above him. Concord activated his armour lockup systems to prevent being sent flying by the wind. As quickly as the explosion began, the meadow went quiet. Concord let the visor in his helmet retract, only to be greeted by a cerulean, rainbow maned pegasus smiling at him. "Gah!" Concord cried and fell on his rump in surprise "heh heh, sorry" said the pegasus as she helped Cloud Flash back onto his hooves. "Rainbow Dash, I presume?" Concord asked. "Aww what gave it away?" Rainbow Dash pouted. Concord raised an eyebrow as if to say: "it's kinda obvious". Rainbow chuckled as she realised this. "A rainbow haired pegasus? Your kind is extremely rare!" Concord exclaimed. "Well other ponies said I ain't called Rainbow Dash for nothin'!" the mare boasted. Concord retracted his armour, before Rainbow popped the question "how fast can you go?". Concord looked at her and asked "you do know I'm undercover?". Rainbow just let out a deadpanned 'pfft' before answering with a question "you seriously don't have any form of flight besides your wings?". Concord knocked his hooves together and his leg armour spanned out over his appendages. A quiet hum was heard as four blue turbine engines fired up inside the armour's horseshoes. Concord began to hover above the ground and watched as Rainbow gawked at the sight of him flying. "Race?" Concord challenged, an ecstatic Rainbow replying with a slightly cocky "you're on". Concord smirked before he zoomed away. "Hey no fair!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she sped after him.

30 laps later.

Two ponies laid on a hillside overlooking the quaint town of Ponyville, both were slightly winded from their race. "I have to admit, you are pretty fast, for a pegasus" Concord admitted, Rainbow Dashed grinned in victory. "Yeah, we should race again sometime bro" she offered to which Concord Blast happily agreed. "Oh where did the time go? Please excuse me, but I must return to Ponyville, I need to find the last mare on my list before I can consider my job done for today" Concord stated, bidding the cerulean pegasus farewell, he galloped away back to Ponyville.

Sugarcube Corner: 4:19pm.

Concord trotted his way throughout the suspiciously desolate town, no matter where he looked, there was nopony to be found. "This reminds me of when the kingdom went into lockdown" Concord shuddered. He entered a building that appeared to be made of confectionary consumption items (candy), only to find every light was switched off inside. "I have the feeling someone planned this" he said before turning around and leaving the bakery/sweet shop. What now was outside him made him gawk in disbelief. Everypony in the whole town stood around a massive blue velvet cake, decorations and banners lined the lamps on the street. In the center of the crowd was a large cannon, which suddenly fired and a pink frizzy haired earth pony soared out from the barrel. She landed right in front of Concord and yelled ecstatically "SURPRISE!". The initial shock of the moment made Concord's jaw drop. He literally picked up from the pavement and fixed it back into place before he attempted conversing with the mare, but to no avail as she blurted out in a rapid pace "hiI'mPinkiePiewhat'syourname?". Concord slowed down what she had said and replied "well my name is Cloud Flash". Pinkie Pie squealed and hurriedly brought Cloud Flash towards the cake, which up close turned out to stand at 10 feet tall! "By Celestia's mane" Concord uttered, in a word, rather dumbstruck and surprised. "Whydon'tyoucutyourcakeImadeitjustforthisoccasionafterall" the mare offered in her high speed intonation. Concord drew his sword and levitated it with his magic high over his head. He paused for dramatic effect before he brought it down on the cake, slicing both it and the table clean in half. The crowd was silent, but then began to cheer, some other stallions glaring at Concord as their marefriends gazed wistfully at him. Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared from nowhere and hollered out the words "LET THE PARTY BEGIN!". Then the sugar filled event commenced.

End Chapter 4...

**So that was Chapter 4. So now the pressure is on for me to write Chapter 5! But don't worry, expect at least a weekly update Crabs! Also I won't be able to upload for next week (Australian time) due to a hike I'm going on. But don't fret, I will return! Anyway, I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Here's Chapter 5! Leave your reviews in the review section (no hate please). Also, news! I have already planned to begin writing a Five Nights at Freddy's fanfiction. Please note that certain aspects of this upcoming fanfiction will not relate to the games. Let me know if you want to see this idea become reality! **

**I'd also like to place a shoutout to Pikachu42, go check out his story at **** u/6479869/Pikachu42 .****And as always, I'll see you guys at the bottom of the page! -WobbliestCrab.**

Chapter 5: A Place to Call Home.

Golden Oaks Library: Tuesday 1:46am.

Concord had only just returned from his gigantic welcome party, and his lack of energy was evident, as was the fact he may have eaten a bit too much Blue Velvet cake. He passed through the kitchen to find Twilight preparing breakfast. "Two questions: One, are parties of that scale common around here? And two, breakfast at this hour?" Concord asked quizzically. Twilight cleared her throat and yawned before she gave her reply. "Yes parties like that are not anything out of the ordinary. And I have to go to Canterlot within in an hour. The other Element bearers have been asked to do the same, you included". Concord began to try and comprehend what Twilight meant by 'Element Bearers'. "Who or what are these Element Bearers?" Concord asked, breaking the silence. "The Element Bearers, as the title suggests, are the six ponies who both physically and mentally represent the six elements of friendship: Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty and my element, Magic" Twilight explained as she levitated a golden tiara onto her head. An extremely rare Lavender Diamond cut into the shape of Twilight's Cutie Mark was encrusted into the decorative front of the Royal apparel item. "I suggest that you make your way to the Ponyville Train Station, that's the best way we can get to Canterlot quickly" the young Princess advised. Concord acknowledged Twilight's advice and vacated the library's premises. As soon as he was in town square, he galloped off to the train station as fast as his hooves could carry him.

Canterlot Debate Hall: 7:59am.

"So then it is settled, Concord Blast will take up residence in Ponyville" Princess Celestia finalized, closing the poll. She looked around the debate hall, getting nods of agreement from the Mane Six and Luna. After receiving word of her sister's fiancè returning, the older sister called for a vote for where the Alicorn should harbour himself for the next month or so. Twilight Sparkle and her friends all voted for the stallion to live among ponies that he knew, decreasing the chance of risking spies. If Concord moved to San Franciscolt, per say, he wouldn't know anypony there, making it easy for Darknia to possibly send in informatives. "Construction on my brother-in-law-to-be's house should commence as soon as it can. Ink Well, send for our finest construction crew and give them orders to start building in Ponyville in at the least two days" Celestia ordered her advisor Ink Well as she handed him a roll of blueprints. Turning to Concord, Celestia asked "Concord Blast, do you or do you not agree to have a suitable house be built for you, so then you will remain safe long enough for our military to prepare for any possible Darknia attacks?" the Sun Princess asked, hoping to get the subject's opinion. Concord paused and then spoke with a voice carrying the tone of a leader "Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun, I wholeheartedly accept your offer" he said, bringing forth a barrage of clapping from the audience. "Then it's settled, thank you all for your time" Celestia thanked, dismissing every other pony in the room except Concord and the Mane Six. "With that out of the way, let's turn our focus towards this Darknia issue" Concord offered. "Very well. So what information can you supply us with Concord? Her armoury, strategy, anything" the inquisitive Solar Guardian requested. Concord then produced a set of documents from beneath his left wing. "I have made copies of everything I know about Darknia and her forces" he explained and added sternly "I recommend that each one of you study these files thourougly, Darknia is not one to be taken with a grain of salt". Rainbow Dash huffed and grunted "why can't we just use the Elements of Harmony on her? It seemed to do the job just fine for other bad guys!". Concord stared at Rainbow and warned "the Elements wouldn't be enough. Those foes all had one thing in common, they all had an exploitable weakness, which you mares used to your advantage". The cerulean pegasus slumped down into her chair, defeated. Concord smirked happily knowing he had proven his point quite well. "Anyway, I recommend that you mares at least SKIM over these documents before you ask any questions", said Concord before turning to Celestia. "Celestia, could you please bring your Exploration and Development staff to the main hall in a few minutes?" he asked politely. "Of course Concord" the sun princess agreed and then added, "Twilight, I think you and your friends should go now, the next train leaves in 5 minutes". Twilight drooped her ears before letting out a sullen 'yes'. The youthful Alicorn turned and left with her group following close behind. "No offence, but do you think she should be a part of the next meeting? She is an Alicorn after all" Concord questioned. Celestia shook her head and replied, "I fear the information that we will discuss could have a rather negative effect on my protege. Some secrets must remain as they are until they are ready to be revealed". Concord saw the sense and logic behind the sun princess' reasons. He turned and left the room quietly as to not disturb Celestia, who was now leafing through her documents given to her by Concord.

Canterlot main hall: 8:49am.

Concord was now scanning his eyes across an old crusty map, slightly brittle from thousands of hard years. He was paying particular attention to Sector M 5, for a rather large island had grasped his attention. As he looked up from the map, Celestia and her Exploration and Development arrived, laden with paper and maps. "Thank you for coming your Highness, and you too gentlestallions" Concord thanked. The ponies all sat down at the table Concord had been using for his map reading. "Let's get down to business sire. We have roughly determined an approximate location of your Empire about an hour ago" said the researcher Calico Quill. "Yes, from the tests we carried out, we can assume it lies at 40 degrees Southwest of the Equestrian meridian" said the scientist Quantum Physics. "So is there anything we should know sire? Defenses, armoury, history?" asked the developer Brick Slab. "First, thank you each for your input on this operation. And two, you'll need somepony who knows traps and adventuring in general to get past the implemented traps the Light Empire has" Concord replied. Celestia spoke up next "we have enlisted the help of a well known hero, Daring Do. I believe she can handle whatever traps or defenses you may have had placed in the Empire". Concord was impressed by this "very good. This 'Daring Do' mare should prove invaluable throughout this operation". The group continued their discussion into the night and soon the next morning.

Canterlot: 7:40am: Wednesday.

By the time Concord left the Canterlot Castle, he could barely stand upright without some help from his armour. "Never again will I partake in such lengthy conversations" he kept repeating as he boarded his train back to Ponyville. Upon arrival to the town, he could see another train unloading the building supplies for his house from a red container car. "Celestia wasn't kidding when she said soon" Concord observed. The stallion continued to watch the trains until it became high noon, and soon took his leave for Golden Oaks library. But sadly for him, he was unaware of a cloaked pony following him from afar...

End Chapter 5...

**So that was Chapter 5. Like I said let me know if you want to see my idea mentioned above become a valued part of my fanfiction library! Thank you guys, and I will see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	7. Chapter 6

**So here you go guys! Here's Chapter 6 for all you fine readers, please enjoy this chapter as I have worked extremely hard on it as it was and unfinished portion of the story when I began writing on this website, so pretty much the lower half of this chapter is all new content. Now with my A/N all finished, I'll see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles

Chapter 6: The Quiet One.

Ponyville: 3:50pm: Sugarcube Corner.

Cloud Flash and the Mane Six were seated around one of the ten lolly-themed tables talking when Concord popped the question of: "what's with Fluttershy?". This was obviously old news for the ponies, especially for the aforementioned Pegasus mare, whom was nowhere to be found. "Let me explain it simply Cloud. SHE'S CALLED FLUTTERSHY BECAUSE SHE'S SHY!" Rainbow almost yelled, thus attracting the attention of multiple customers, except a brown colt who was fiddling with some device that made the occasional beep noise. "Yell much RD?" Cloud remarked jokingly, quietly of course. Rainbow Dash shrugged and continued to maliciously eat her cake slice she had purchased. "Listen here buckaroo. Fluttershy is, in ah way, shy" explained AppleJack before sighing and adding, "okay very shy! But you may have not much luck if you attempt conversation with her on yer own, unless ya have oneuv us come with ya to her place" Applejack offered. Concord agreed hastily wordlessly as he was also eating a slice of cake, which he was intent on savouring for as long as possible. "Well now that we've come tah an agreement, ah best be off now, can't slack off all day now can ah?" AJ rhetorically asked before removing herself from her seat. Concord slid out of his seat to follow, just as he left the door he heard a rather loud yell and looked back inside the store to see the brown colt writhing around on the floor. "It hurts! It hurts!" he kept repeating loudly, thus attracting the gaze of many older ponies. Concord backed away slowly, hoping to avoid anyone thinking he had done something to the youth. As soon the door was closed, Concord dashed away as to catch up with Applejack.

When he arrived at the mare's side, he quickly asked another question, "so was Fluttershy always as you say, shy or has this just become a thing in the past years?". Applejack replied knowledgeably, "Flutters is shy by default, even her birth records said she was extremely shy in her youngest years". Concord was slightly appalled by this, 'how could she be born shy? Something like that happens only when the parents or ancestors were shy as well' he thought to himself. "But then again, she will not stand by and watch her friends and family be harmed, no sir! That mare has stared down a manticore fer bucks sake!" Applejack exclaimed. Concord snapped his attention away from his previous distraction to just correct what he thought he heard. "Pardon? Did you just say that this Fluttershy has not only stared down a manticore, one of the most dangerous animal species in Equestria, but has also walked away unscathed? THAT'S MADNESS!" Concord almost screamed. Applejack flicked her mane and replied with a tone of authority evident in her voice "Honesty element never lies". Concord huffed, still quite sure that what he said was the actual truth, his stubborn nature showing. Applejack carried on through the town, Concord now more intent on getting to Fluttershy's house as to get an answer to whether or not what AJ said was true.

Ponyville Animal Care: 4:00pm.

Concord tapped his left forehoof impatiently as he had only a day or so prior, expecting for there to be no answer. But unlike before, the door opened almost immediately after Applejack knocked on the wooden surface. "Oh hello Applejack, oh you have a guest that's nice..." said the actually rather small pegasus, words turning to mumble pretty much as soon as she laid eyes on Concord's figure. The stallion felt slightly awkward just standing there while the silent mare ran her hoof along the bottom of the door sheepishly, not saying anything to him or her other friend. "Oh fer Pete's sake, do I have to play mommy again?" groaned Applejack as she gently pushed Fluttershy back into her house and dragging Concord inside with her. She plonked Concord down on a seat and placed Flutters next to him before taking a seat herself. Just as she was about to begin what Concord hoped wasn't a lecture, a faint sound of a door being opened was heard by all. From the hallway of Fluttershy's cottage came a grey coated pegasus mare. Concord instantly took note of her eyes, which were facing the direction opposite to each other, thus making him nickname her as 'Derpy'. Which to his surprise was her actual name when AJ said hello to her. "So what you guys doing?" asked the slightly unstable hoofed mare. "Well like Ah had do with you, Ah'm introducing mister Cloud Flash to Flutters" Applejack explained. Derpy was slightly irked by the name, considered 'Cloud Flash' was a 'unicorn', making the name Cloud Flash not very suitable. "Okay then! Hello there mister Flash!" greeted the blonde maned pegasus, Concord could sense a slight air of suspicion emanate from the greeting, Derpy didn't seem to have complete faith in him. This was slightly offing to Concord as nopony else had had no quarrels with his name, all but this one. Concord made a mental note to keep an eye on miss Derpy. After exchanging pleasantries with the other ponies in the room, Derpy turned and left, leaving Applejack to help acquaint Concord with Fluttershy.

First were the usual, 'how do you do?'s and stuff bordering on that concept. Then came things like 'likes and dislikes' or 'hopes and dreams'. Most of that involved Fluttershy's hope for animals to be treated equally or Concord's hopes for Darknia to leave his fiance alone. Both agreed that peace was a necessity for any of these events to occur.

The conversation developed and continued for possibly over 1 hour or more, each pony equally becoming more friendlier towards each other with every sentence. Applejack had fallen asleep at around the 5:00pm mark and was snoring away on the chair peacefully while the two new friends chatted away for possibly another 2 hours.

Ponyville Animal Care: 7:01pm.

Concord peeled his behind off of the seat he had melted into over 3 hours ago, feeling multiple joints popping and snapping as they were ordered to function once again. The stallion wheezed as he stretched his back slowly, as to not sprain anything vital. "Ohhhh man does my rump ache!" exclaimed Concord as he turned around to face Fluttershy, who was stretching her wings, similar pops and snapping sounds sounding out from the joints. "Well it is quite late might I say, so if you don't mind, I'll take my leave. Plus Applejack needs to get home" Concord said. Fluttershy nodded, no longer talking. But then again, she only seemed to be louder than usual when talking to somepony she was friends with, now Concord was one of those ponies. That he was thankful for. Bidding Fluttershy farewell, Concord lifted up Applejack via a levitation spell and carried her out of the door, closing it behind him silently. Trotting away from the small cottage, Concord looked to the night sky and gazed upon Luna's beautiful moon. He uttered a curse to Darknia as he continued on his merry way back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Sweet Apple Acres: 7:45pm.

Concord watched as Applebloom tucked her older sister into bed, the cute little filly planted a light peck of a kiss on AJ's cheek and rested her stetson atop the bedside table. Concord stepped back as the filly left the room and closed the door quietly. "Thanks fer bringing Applejack back home" thanked Applebloom. "It was no problem, and once again, sorry about the scare a few days ago" Concord said. Applebloom nodded happily before returning to her respective room. Concord left the house quickly and quietly as to not awake anypony who was resting inside the building. The stallion slowly trotted his way out the boundaries of the orchard, content with his accomplishments. The usually alert pony was too tired to even notice a group of cloaked ponies hiding amongst the trees, watching him from beneath their hoods with obvious interest. They whispered quietly amongst each other. Such words like "he is the one" or "our spy has served us well" were the most common words to be spoken. Concord didn't even know what hassles were about to head his way...

End Chapter 6...

**So there is chapter 6 out of the way. What comes next is whatever I can think of while working on upcoming schoolwork. But do not worry! I will make sure chapter 7 is brought to you all very soon! That's all from me for now. So I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello all! I'm back after quite a wait! But do not fret! I will have new chapters coming soon! Now before I leave you to it, I'll just let you know that this chapter, chapter eight and chapter nine will be part of a build up to Chapter Ten! Which will be a special issue. Now with all that pishposh out of the way, I'll see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page! -WobbliestCrab**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles

Chapter 7: Endeavours of eccentric proportions.

Somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Saturday. 8:01pm

Daring Do was a pegasus with a khaki brown coat and a black mane and tail, a safari hat and a khaki vest were her main articles of clothing, and only on certain occasions would she wear something other than what she wore now. She had been requested by the leader's of Celestia's council to explore an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean; where she was right now with her faithful assistant, Crypt Sands, a earth pony mare with a grey coat and red mane and tail. Daring Do had a massively positive public opinion throughout Equestria and other countries across the globe, and she had kept that opinion for over seven years. The mare looked upon the large wall of rock that laid before her, an obstacle in her way that needed to be cleared as soon as possible by any means necessary whatsoever. She looked behind herself and taped her forehoof impatiently as a large pile of equipment walked up the stairs at a pace only comparable to a snail. It was in fact Crypt Sands, hauling a load that was possibly double her weight. "Crypt, do you still have some of that dynamite I used on our last expedition?" Daring asked, holding out her left hoof as she did so. Crypt Sands unloaded the bag off her back and rummaged through it for a good few seconds before pulling out an orange cylinder with a fuse extending from its top, she quickly placed it in the pegasus' hoof. Daring Do pulled a match out of her mane, striking it against the brim of her hat as she did so, the tip igniting into a small orange flame. Daring grinned almost maniacally as she put the flame to the fuse and watched as the fuse began its countdown. The mare threw the tube at the pile of rocks and stood back. Only a few seconds later did the explosive detonate, causing a small shock wave to sweep past the two ponies. Dust was kicked high up into the air and settled a half minute later, ushering forth a cacophony of coughs from Crypt Sands. Daring Do straightened her hat and proceeded into the now clear cave entrance with her follower hot on her heels.

As the duo descended deeper and deeper into the depths of what they hoped was their target they began to notice strange strange features about the caves. "Could somepony please tell me why there's ice in an underground cave? This is not a normal phenomenon is is Miss Do?" asked Crypt. "That it is not Sands" confirmed Daring Do as she picked a small chunk of ice off a nearby wall with an ice pick she had in the small bag on her back. What Daring found even more interesting was that the ice didn't melt when it came into contact with a heat source, unlike normal ice. "I don't think this is ice we are dealing with here Crypt, more like some form of new material" she said as she stored the 'ice' into a container she had removed from her bag. "The council could find some interest in this" the pegasus commented and returned the container back to its little spot in the mare's bag. The duo continued on through the cave for another half hour before finding themselves in what seemed to be an ornately decorated hallway of some sort. "Crypt… are you taking photos of this?" asked Daring Do to her advisor, who was snapping away furiously as per her superior had asked. The ponies trotted along the hallway for a little while longer, only the sound of a camera going off and two sets of hooves clip-clopping their way along.

A few hundred meters later…

The two ponies were yet again confronted with another problem, that problem was a very large pit, seemingly endless in nature. Daring Do pulled a lighter out from her bag and flicked it on before dropping it into the massive crevasse. Less than two seconds later the small metal object clattered to a floor a few meters down, illuminating what appeared to be a leg. The head explorer turned to her follower and walked up to the bag on the other mare's back, after another session of rummaging through the almost mountain-like bag the pegasus produced a extremely powerful LED lamp. Returning to the edge of the gap, Daring Do aimed the lamp down at where the lighter laid and flicked it on. The mare almost fell off the edge when she saw what was below her. Crypt Sands decided to look for herself, an almost identical gasp came from her. Below the two explorers was almost too surreal. It was an army of robotic ponies; and this was no small army either, this was an army that could probably match Equestria's population and more! "Sweet Celestia!" remarked Crypt as Daring swept the light over the mecha-ponies. They all bore the same cutie-mark, a set of four numbers, obviously used for their ID tag. "Look, there's some with wings and horns" noted the head explorer as she stopped the light on a large battalion of unicorn and pegasus mecha-ponies. "I think we may be on the right track miss" Crypt advised. "No argument there my friend" agreed Daring Do as the mares turned around and left the area. Not even noticing the glowing eyes off to their right.

The ponies were still recovering from their initial discovery of the robots, 'how could an army of that size remain hidden for so long?' was the question that repeated over and over in their heads. The two had begun to have second thoughts about going to the island when they entered another room, this time filled with pods, thousands upon thousands of them. Daring Do, being the adventurous one she was, walked up to the nearest pod and brushed off the ancient layers of dust that had gathered upon the glass hatch, before recoiling at what lay beyond the glass canopy. Crypt Sands trotted up and took a peek herself, and like her superior had done just mere seconds ago, recoiled at the contents. It was a filly, no older then five at the most, in some sort of cryogenically-induced deep sleep. "Please tell me she isn't... well you know" said Daring, who couldn't stand seeing dead ponies. Crypt noticed a form of heart rate monitor off to the right of the capsule the filly was frozen in, it was happily beeping away as Crypt confirmed that the filly wasn't dead. "No, no she's... alive, just frozen", Crypt told Daring with a sigh of relief coming from both ponies as soon as she said that. "What's her name?" Crypt wondered out loud, Daring Do looked above the pod the filly slept in, a line of incomprehensible dialect was written on a rectangular sign. "Well if my old Equestrian is still up to scratch, her name is Vilio Carrel", Daring translated. "What an odd name", commented Crypt as the ponies continued on their way down the hallway.

The two explorers had almost had enough fun of just seeing nothing but hallway, and dusty pods, for what seemed to be hours when a light appeared a few hundred meters in front of them. The light gave the two ponies hope and they began to gallop their way towards the beacon. When they reached the glimmering light, what laid beyond sparked a sense of awe in their hearts. Daring Do jumped onto the massive bag on her helper's back and almost dived inside as to retrieve a small device from within the mess of maps, navigation tools and other adventuring gear. When Daring felt her hoof lay itself upon her target item she pulled herself out of the bag and pressed the button on top of the silver sphere. The sphere folded outwards like a water lily in bloom, revealing a blinking red strobe light, this signified that their location was being transmitted to Concord and the council. "So how much am I getting paid for carrying this ridiculously large bag on my back all day?" asked Crypt Sands rather jokingly, Daring Do chuckled and patted the other mare on the shoulder, "you'll receive 70 percent of the cut, seem fair?" negotiated the explorer happily. "That I could live with" Crypt said with a tinge of laughter eminent. The two adventurers gazed out over their newest discovery and celebrated with an honorary glass of Equestrian wine. A few feet behind them in the darkness, the eyes watched them intently, "intruders must be purged, engaging firearms" it almost yelled as it charged at Daring Do and Crypt Sands.

Ponyville Park. Saturday. 3:00pm (Different time zone).

Concord, being the sucker for relaxing he was, had found himself as seat in the midst of the small park and had been talking to Twilight for a few hours, happily telling the alicorn mare of his kingdom and how it functioned. "So that's how you deal with crime? Bit harsh don't you think?" Twilight asked. "Well when you have connections with someone as 'skilled' a makeup artist as Powder Puff, you might as well use it to your advantage. The sheer embarrassment of wearing her makeup designs in public will convert any criminal back into a respected member of society" Concord explained rather sadistically. Twilight giggled at that statement and asked in a quizzical tone, "Concord, last I remember you talked old Equestrian when AJ brought you to me, how come you know present Equestrian then?" Concord pondered quickly before recalling how his new language skill had come to be. "Ah yes. You see while I was in that damn time vortex, I would look at certain sections of Equestria's timeline and would teach myself how to speak your tongue. I also picked up a few other languages along the way, African, Spanish etc and taught myself as many words as possible from each country. Like this: Hallo, mein Name ist Concord!" the king-in-hiding recited in German. Twilight remarked and replied in German "Sie scheinen ziemlich viele verschiedene Sprachen dann wissen". (You seem to know quite a few languages then). The two royals laughed for a moment until an alarm sounded from Concord's armour disk. Concord raised the bandanna around his neck to reveal the disk and pressed the button. An audio message began to play "alert to anypony receiving this message, we have completed our task, coordinates are enclosed on this file". Concord almost smashed the the crystal as he began to gallop towards the train station, at a pace comparable to the fastest racers in the country. Twilight took off after him from the air, struggling to keep up with the stallion as he galloped along with a cloud of dust forming behind him.

End Chapter 7…

**The plot thickens! A special heads up for Chapter 10 (again), which will be a special 'episode' of this series, the same goes for every tenth chapter after Chapter 10. Also most of the chapters after this will be occasionally ideas given to me by Pikachu42, who by the way, deserves a bit more recognition! Thanks to him, I can continue writing this series as I always have a fresh supply of ideas coming from him! So guys, thanks for reading! And I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! -WobbliestCrab**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello all! This is Chapter 8! If any of you are wondering why there was a slightly long wait this time, it's because my 'wonderful' Science Teacher decided to dump a massive workload on my class last week and I've been working on it for the past week, thus prohibiting me from doing any work on this FanFiction. But thankfully I have finished this chapter and have already started working on Chapter 9, with hopefully no serious homework forcing me to halt progress. So without further adieu, I'll see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!**

**-WobbliestCrab**

End Chapter 7…

The Light Kingdom Chronicles

Chapter 8: Sorry, I left the robot on!

Canterlot Military Wing. 11:01pm.

"We need to get to these coordinates ASAP, my kingdom's internal defence network will have been alerted to your contract's presence, and I can only fear the worst" Concord said to Celestia as he trotted along a hallway overlooking the hangar below. "I'll have a transport craft be readied for you, it may take a while though for the pilots to prepare for takeoff" Celestia explained. Concord growled at the news, "there's no time for waiting your highness! The last thing I want to find when I arrive are the corpses of those two ponies!" he yelled. Celestia backed away slightly, surprised by the stallion's sudden change of tone. Concord sighed and quickly said "sorry for the outburst, I just hate knowing the fact that two ponies may die by one of my creations could be on my head soon". Celestia said nothing more as the royals trotted down a flight of stairs descending down to hangar floor. Concord walked out to the edge of the hangar, where the floor met the air, with the ocean hundreds of meters below. Concord focused his mind and removed the illusion spell that had kept his wings hidden for so long, nopony even noticed the transformation. Concord pulled the goggles Rarity gave him over his eyes and saluted Celestia, "I'll be back soon, if things get hairy, I'll let you know" he said. The alicorn then spread his wings and rocketed out of the hangar, a streak of prussian blue was only visible as he flew away. Celestia watched as the streak faded out of her peripheral vision then turned to take her exit.

The Light Kingdom. 4:00am (different time zone).

Daring Do and Crypt Sands were, as of now, on full alert. As soon as they had begun to celebrate their discovery, a mecha-pony had snuck up behind them and had attempted to relieve them of their lives. Now they had been forced to run as fast as they could. But the mecha-pony was a persistent one, and was hunting them down intently, its blue eyes scouring the halls of the store the mares had stationed themselves in. "I really should have brought that rifle with us" whispered Crypt as she peeked over the counter they had been hiding behind for an hour or so. They could hear the ominous clunks of the mecha-pony resounding from a distant part of the building, indicating that it was not very successful in finding its targets. "We could make a break for the way we came in you know" advised Crypt to Daring in a very quiet voice. Daring Do weighed the outcomes and agreed, the two mares readied themselves for a long stint of running; it would have helped if they had water with them, but that was still in the bag Crypt had been carrying, which was too far away to retrieve. The pegasus went first, as she was the fastest on foot and in the air. The mare bolted out the door and attracting the attention of the mecha-pony. Crypt watched as the robot smashed through a window in the display area, glass raining down to the floor like water during a storm. Crypt quickly stood up and galloped out through the broken window and took a hard right and ran along the streets of the city she had been looking at hours ago.

Meanwhile Daring Do was soaring over the roofs of the buildings beneath her, the robotic pony clanking along the street below. "You like to run eh? Well prepare for a workout!" she mocked to the android. The metal pony responded by opening two hatches on its sides and allowing two machine guns to spring out and take aim at the adventurer. "Buck!" yelled Daring as a volley of gunfire was sent her way, bullets hurtling past her wings and limbs, one only scratching the explorer hat on her head. Daring Do banked off to the left and climbed higher into the sky, as soon as she thought she had it home free, she collided with some invisible surface. "Motherbucker" she cursed again as she resorted to low and sweeping glides across the city, in an attempt to find her follower.

Crypt looked around, no signs of the attacker's presence were evident, heaving a sigh of relief she pulled out an automatic she had concealed in her mane. Strapping the belt that held the gun in place around her neck, she checked to ensure the crosshairs were lined up perfectly. Then she gripped the trigger-lever in her mouth and trotted out into the streets, armed and ready. She waited patiently, the wind blowing through her mane. A loud crash was heard and the mecha-pony clanked out onto the street and swiveled its head to face the new challenger. "You are treading upon this ground as an intruder, leave now or serious action will be taken" the robot recited, Crypt showed no signs of agreeing to its terms. "Vacate the premises immediately or deadly force will be utilised" the robot said again, again met with no signs from the opposition. The robot said nothing and reactivated its guns and opened fire. Crypt dodged the spray of fire and hid in an alley, she peeked out and returned a few shots of her own from her revolver. The 9mm bullets didn't do much impact on the android, which was using deadly 10mm rounds to suppress the equine. Crypt noticed a ladder leading up to the roof and began to climb as to surprise the attacking robot with an aerial barrage of Crypt's custom rounds.

Daring watched Crypt from the air with worry, the young mare was almost like a daughter to her and the veteran adventurer didn't want to be the one to nail the final bolt in Crypt's coffin. Suddenly a streak of prussian blue soared overhead, giving the adventurer a new burst of hope, help was on the way. The mare also felt the urge to help Crypt, and so she did. With pinpoint accuracy, Daring Do slammed into the robotic pony, snapping its leg joints and crippling its left gun. as Daring jumped off the damaged robot, it raised its head again as the two faced it with a fiery glare. "Serious damage sustained, disengaging legs" the robot announced as the shattered legs detached from the body and the joints converted into jets. The broken mecha-pony lifted off from the ground and stared down the two living ponies. The remaining gun raised again and the only thing to leave the barrel was a puff of smoke, the gun was broken internally and therefore inactive. "Weapons have been rendered ineffective, activating core override" the pony-bot said, its voice laden with static. Daring looked to Crypt, who was galloping for cover, not knowing what the outcome could be of the 'core override'. Do then realised that she was not in cover yet, and with that notion, she too ran for safety. The mecha-pony paid no attention to the two and continued to charge its core up to such a degree that it would explode in mere seconds. "Core stability at 5 percent, combustion imminent" it said as the chestplate began to melt due to the sheer amount of heat coming from its melting core. Only a second later, a fireball took the robots place and a massively loud 'boom!' rocked the surrounding buildings and blew the two mares' manes and tails around like leaves in the wind.

Concord felt the ground shake beneath his hooves as he galloped his way down one of the streets of his kingdom. 'Celestia have mercy on those two' Concord thought as he rounded a bend and found a crater in the center of the street, pieces of metal scattered everywhere with some embedded in the walls of the nearby buildings. "Hello?! Is there anyone still here?" called Concord, he saw two mares pop out from an alleyway off to his right. "Oh thank goodness! Are you two hurt? Do you need medical aid?" he asked furiously. Daring and Crypt quickly dismissed his worry before asking, "so how much are we getting paid for this?".

Back in Canterlot, Princess Celestia was looking out over her province from the grand balcony when Luna trotted up next to her. "So, what art thou exactly going to do with this Darknia issue?" Luna asked her older sibling. Celestia turned her head to the smaller alicorn and sighed, "I honestly don't know dear sister, for now we need to help your fiance with rebuilding his kingdom" she explained. Luna nodded then turned around and walked away, leaving her sister on her balcony to ponder over the thoughts that ran through her head. Emotions were coursing through her brainwaves madly, most of them fear, hope, and surprisingly anger, a feeling that she had not experienced for quite a few years. "First Darknia frightens my sister, now she threatens my entire country?" she said to herself. Suddenly a voice spoke up above her "oh I'm not threatening you, believe me dear". Celestia whirled around with a face only akin to that of almost demonic anger, her horn glowing with an aura of gold. The sun deity summoned her ancient battle-axe and began to swing it around menacingly and stared down Darknia. The dark being laughed in a distorted voice and stared into Celestia's eyes, the purple flames that represented her eyelashes flickering. "You threaten me with the weapon you used to kill only one of my commanders?" the dark creature mocked, only getting a deep growl from Celestia. "If you were not in the state you are now, I would most likely have decapitated you already" the sun princess spat with the most bitter voice she had ever mustered as she let her battle-axe fade away in a cloud of gold smoke. "I only accept threats from worthy opponents, like Concord" Darknia advised as she trotted up beside Celestia and looked out over the other ponies kingdom. "You really did put a lot of work into this place" Darknia noted and added "it really will be a shame to have to burn it to the ground once I claim victory". Celestia, having enough of the evil wretch before her, finally snapped and yelled "if you have only come to mock or threaten me or my kingdom, so help me I will have balefire mega-spells rain down on your doorstep!" Darknia only flicked a strand of her mane out of her eye as a response to the death threat. Celestia roared and lit up her horn and cast a teleportation spell at the dark mare, who disappeared instantly the second the spell hit her, all that remained a wisp of black smoke. Celestia cursed the mare before heading back inside the castle as to avoid the coming storm on the horizon. The princess tapped into the magical communication wavelengths and sent a message to Concord, the situation was slowly beginning to escalate, and Celestia only feared the worst for her ponies…

End Chapter 8...

**So Darknia has now threatened both of the royal sisters! But who is next on her little list of threats? That may be a question answered soon! But when? I don't know, and neither do you, so we seem to be on the same level! (I think). No important things to really tell you guys so I'll just round it off here. I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	10. Chapter 9

**So a LONG time ago, while Chapter 8 was still in the work, I took a look at my email box. AND HOLY CRAP! Two people have started following this fic and on has even FAVOURITED it! It may not be much, but still! Special thanks to the following people:**

**Hello50.**

**TheExternus.**

**Anyway, with my little happy spaz. After a LONG time of waiting, here is Chapter 9 of the Light Kingdom Chronicles!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 9: The rather large to-do list.

The Light Kingdom: 9:00am, Sunday.

After dealing with his own creation, Concord had taken a walk around his castle and had stumbled upon his old room. The stallion was currently sitting on a chair in the cozy little room, which had a possibly two inch thick layer of dust and cobwebs lining every surface in the room. "It seems like only yesterday that I was leaving this very room to go into battle and fight alongside my brothers", he said to himself as he cast a cleaning spell over the room. A second passed and then every speck of dirt and grime simply vanished from the room, leaving behind a clean and healthy looking residence. Blue and gold carpets were on the floor, a tapestry made from white and red silk hung on the wall across from his bed, which was against the left wall (if you looked at it from the doorway). A wardrobe and a duo of bedside tables were the closest objects to the bed. Then there was a desk with an electrically powered lamp sitting on the right hand side, the light bulb missing from its socket. Multiple papers were stacked on the floor to the left of the desk, ancient Equestrian writing neatly inked on the thin sheets. The alicorn levitated a teddy bear that laid on his bed, surprisingly still intact after 10'000 years of sitting in one spot with nothing but silence to be its friend. Concord snuggled the bear, his inner child surfacing once more, "oh I missed you Sir Snuggie" he stated quietly so that nopony could hear him. The stallion quickly placed the bear back on the bed and left the room, closing the door gently as he did so.

The alicorn ruler trotted down the hallway leading to the cryogenics chamber, his heart rate beginning to pick up for the excitement he was experiencing was causing a massive rush in adrenaline. Concord rounded a corner and found set eyes upon a massive steel door, the symbol for the Light Kingdom was emblazoned upon the door's center. The symbol was a flag with a glowing sword with a gold gear behind it emblazoned on the fabric. The stallion stepped up to the door then removed his armour disc and pressed it against the door. Faint mechanical whirs could be heard from somewhere behind the door. Concord removed the armour disc from the door surface and replaced it on his chest and covered it with his neckerchief before stepping back a few paces. The door made a massive clunk and freezing cold air rushed out from the side of the massive metal object as it swung open. Concord shivered slightly as the frozen oxygen gushed past his face and ruffled his mane, giving him a minor case of goosebumps. "I knew I should have fixed that vent issue" he noted as he trotted down the darkly lit hallways of the cryogenics facility.

10'000 years had not even grazed the complex as the metal that built up the place was still gleaming like it had been only put there the day before. "I knew I made a good decision when I chose to have the place built out of pure Equestrinium" Concord said triumphantly to himself as he ran a hoof along the sleek wall that ran along the corridor he was trotting down. The alicorn looked up and took note of a sign that hung above another door, this one was circular and bore the symbol of safety upon its frame. Concord drew a breath and spoke his next words loudly "Arcania, ov de lefro". A female voice replied from the door in present Equestrian "welcome back Concord Blast, your request has been processed, opening cryo chamber door". Concord smiled, the teaching system had done its job wonderfully. The stallion then watched as the massive door rolled off to the right with a multitude of screeching noises as metal grinded against metal. The king then galloped into the room that lay beyond the door and skidded to a halt in front of a control panel. 'Buck, what was the password again?' Concord thought as he reached a hoof out towards a keypad. "The password sire is CMCr3bff" said Arcania, the AI overwatcher. "Thanks AC" Concord thanked as he keyed in the password (don't ask how he did it with hooves). As soon as the last variable was typed in, the lights in the room switched on and so did the lights inside the cryogenic capsules, revealing the ponies that slept inside them. Concord walked up to the glass panel that separated him from his friends and placed a hoof against it. "Arcania, begin the thawing cycle" he said with a very serious voice, the robotic A.I replied "certainly sir, thawing process engaged". Concord then turned on a monitor and picked up a remote that sat on the control panel. He pressed a button and an image of a sleeping pony appeared, the title Pod no.13475 were emblazoned on the bottom left corner of the screen. Concord began to flick through each pod as the cryo-genic fluid that had frozen the ponies began to melt and drain out of the pods. "Arcania, prepare a document for me to send to Canterlot, we going to need a lot of materials if we want to get the kingdom back up to scratch after these guys wake up" Concord ordered the A.I advisor, a subtle beep signalled the request was received. Concord turned his attention back to the rows of capsules that were below him and noticed Daring Do and Crypt Sands poking around a pod containing a red unicorn, a press of another button turned on a loudspeaker system. "You two may want to clear out of that room soon, the chemicals coming out of those tubes are not very nice to smell" Concord advised as he placed his armour disc upon the control panel. The two adventurers quickly left the room and left Concord to himself.

1 hour later…

"I don't remember the thawing process being this long!" Concord yelled as he recounted some of the testing runs he had done back in the golden age of his empire. 'From what the tests said, the thawing cycle should've only taken a few minutes not a whole bucking hour!' the alicorn thought. He looked at one of the ponies via the camera, and noticed he was regaining consciousness. 'At least some minor progress has been made' Concord noted before sitting himself down on a seat he pulled out from underneath the control panel, 'a few hours more should do it' he thought and then fell asleep.

Some unknown time later...

The sound of a ball hitting the window awoke Concord and he snapped his attention towards the Cryo-genics room. The chamber was swarming with ponies of all shapes and sizes, some Unicorns, some Pegasi and some just the humble Earth Pony. Concord wasted no time in exiting the control room and joining the masses below with the largest smile he had ever smiled upon his face. The equines cheered as he waved at them, relieved to know their ruler was still alive. Concord cleared his throat and boomed "my fellow Equestrian inhabitants! Today is the day you have been reawoken! While this future is one you have not yet experienced, I am most perfectly sure that the learning program installed in your pods has kept you up to date with the present" Concord proclaimed. "But while this new future is a bright one, we still face serious threat from Darknia and her forces of the darkness" he added which brought a stint of angry mumbling and growling from the crowd. Concord was worrying for the citizens, he wanted them safe, and he was fearing for their wellbeing more than anything. "You may all be worrying, but I assure you all, I would rather let Darknia have this castle than have you be taken as her mindless slaves" Concord stated truthfully, which wiped away the mumbles of fear and replaced them with cheers of loyalty. The king then stomped his right forehoof on the ground loudly, signalling that he was finished with his little speech. The crowd then flowed out of the Cryo-genics chamber and exited the room via the control room's main entrance. Concord waited behind instead of following his fellow ponyfolk, he needed to talk with two special ponies before he left. Those two ponies where his best soldiers, Remington Shell and Benelli Shell.

The two aforementioned ponies were standing out in the middle of the room talking to each other merrily, when Concord approached they snapped to attention with a salute of respect. Remington was a maroon coated and black maned shotgun-wielding Unicorn stallion with a seriously thick Scottish accent. Benelli was a Earth Pony mare with a cream coloured coat, a grey mane and tail who also had an extensive knowledge in the art of sniping "My liege, Commander Remington and Benelli reporting fer duty" recited Remington. "At ease soldiers" Concord replied and the two soldiers lowered their hooves. "Sir, requesting a replacement robotic limb, sir!" Remington barked, Concord pointed to a rack on the wall behind them, the shelves had a multitude of robot-like limbs resting upon categorized racks for each age and stature of pony. Remington trotted up to a shelf with limbs that best suited his stature and took one off the rack, he secured the limb onto a socket that had been implanted into the stub that should have been his other leg. The limb clicked and whirred into life as Remington returned to Concord with a smile on his face. "So what did I miss?" he asked cheerily, Concord replied "not too much my friend, not too much". Benelli smiled as Remington placed his new limb on her shoulder and planted a quick kiss on her cheek, she blushed at the gesture. Concord smirked as he watched the display of union before turning around and gesturing for the couple to follow him. "Not to be much of a killjoy, but I am going to have to leave you two for now. I need to return back to the mainland soon" Concord explained as Remington and Benelli followed him out of the cryogenics chamber. "If I may ask, why do you need to return to the mainland sir?" Benelli asked as they trotted through the still open cryo chamber door. "I have already established an identity in one of the towns, and if I am missing for more than a few days then I fear that the townsfolk will begin to worry for me", he explained and added, "also I have the suspicion that somepony has been watching me while I have stayed there. I need confirmation of this before I take it to the authorities". Remington and Benelli exchanged concerned looks, "are ya sure ye don't be needing us too come wit ye sir? If somepony is stalking you, well you could be in soom serious trouble if ya dinna not have any backup" Remington said. Concord shook his head, "while I am honoured by your concerns, I will be more than capable of handling this slight issue. I have the companionship of the Elements of Harmony, so there is no doubt in my mind that will be able to help me". Benelli and Remington sighed and then went silent. Concord could sense the air of fear that hung around them, they were genuinely worried about their king and the thought of having to take on a high ranking job while he was absent didn't really help their current situation. Concord scratched his chin and thought for a moment before having a minor stroke of genius hit him, he whirled around and faced his two comrades with a smile of pride on his face. "I have just has the most minor stroke of genius! Arcania! Please give me a report on our factory's condition" Concord asked to the AI. A subtle beep later, a formal looking report fizzled into life as a hologram projected from Concord's armour gem. The king read through the report as Remington and Benelli talked quietly to each other, a few snickers and giggles occurring now and again as they spoke. Concord, after he finished reading the report, turned off the hologram and rubbed his eyes. "I really shouldn't keep my eyes open that long" he said regrettedly, earning a smirk from his two friends. The alicorn motioned for the two commanders to follow him again as they made their way back up onto the main grounds of the castle. "You two are probably wondering why I asked Arcania to do what she did" he said and added "if you two are so concerned for my safety, I'll have six mecha ponies built to be my personal guards". Remington and Benelli calmed down a little bit, which was enough for their king. Concord lit up his horn and sent a telekinetic message to Celestia then spread his wings. "Before I go, remember the key is under the welcome rug" he joked to his comrades. The couple saluted with a smile on both of their muzzles, Concord returned the gesture and then gave an almighty flap of his wings and took off, leaving a streak of blue in his wake.

Five minutes later…

Concord could finally see Ponyville in the distance, signalling his journey was almost complete. He landed comfortably in a meadow on the outskirts of the town and quickly disguised his wings again with an illusion spell. 'Cloud Flash' trotted his way back into Ponyville via a small dirt road surrounded by trees, the sound of chirping birds made him feel rather calm as he walked down the track. But the sound of birds still could not shake the sense of him being watched, the reason for this was a pony lurking in the shadows of the forest, invisible to the stallion. The mysterious pony wore a red hoodie, a symbol of unknown origin was sewn into one the side pockets, the symbol itself was a strange combination of old Equestrian words and queer insignias. Some of these insignias were a strange skull and a shattered heart. The pony levitated a walkie-talkie radio up to his/her mouth and spoke into the device quietly as he/she kept his/her eyes trained on Cloud Flash. "Target has been identified master, should I engage?" the pony asked the equine on the receiving end of the transmission. A clearly scrambled voice replied "not as of yet. Wait until he is at the park, you will have a much clearer shot there." The pony shut off the radio and continued to follow Concord, all the while trying to stop the lyre on her back from rattling.

End Chapter 9...

**Now before anyone asks, yes I have never described Concord's Cutie Mark. So that is why I went and made an edit back in Chapter 1 that added a description of his Cutie Mark. But for the sake of convenience, I will put said description down below:**

** A grey cloud with two criss-crossed lightning bolts behind it, strange markings are surrounding the cutie mark itself.**

**Now it is time for some explanation as to why this chapter in particular took so long to get published. One, my school decided to shower us with homework and assignments. And two, I wanted to make sure I could make this chapter as good as it could possibly be. I probably rewrote the same section three or four times! Anyway, I think my work is done for now, so I guess I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	11. Chapter 10 - Special 1

**So here you go my fine Crustaceans! Chapter 10 of the Light Kingdom Chronicles is here and it is here to stay! Thanks for the support so far! I'll keep this little bit short so then you fine readers can get to the part you have been waiting for! So I'll see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles

Chapter 10: An unexpected foe.

Ponyville Outskirts: 3:05pm, Sunday.

Fluttershy was happily returning to her cottage after a day of shopping at the markets, the two saddlebags on her sides stuffed to the brim with animal food and pony food. She turned off the main road and trotted down the dirt road that led to her quaint little forest home. The mare saw her home a few meters ahead as she passed the large oak tree that sat on the very edge of the property and felt relieved that she was finally home. Fluttershy was about to open her gate when she noticed a multitude of glass fragments lying outside one of her cottage's windows. The pegasus unloaded the bags off her back and went to inspect the fragments, fear washing over her as she did so. "What is this?" the mare asked she poked the fragments with her right hoof, being careful as to avoid cutting open her skin on any sharp pieces. Fluttershy then noticed the window the glass lay in front of was shattered with only a few remnants sticking out of the buckled frame. Fluttershy also saw that the window next to one she was standing in front of was also shattered, on closer inspection she found out it had been smashed inward. The mare quickly went and grabbed her bags again and rushed into her house. Once inside Flutters began to sweep up the glass that was scattered on the floor of her cottage. 'Oh my, oh my, oh my, who could have possibly happened while I was gone?' she thought as she collected the glass into a box (don't ask how she did it without any form of magic, just roll with it). The pegasus then noticed that her little rabbit friend angel was missing and fear flooded her heart. The mare rushed around the house as fast as she could, looking under every single piece of furniture, every potted plant, even under the chicken house! The pegasus began to shake uncontrollably as she realised her little friend was no where to be found. Then there was a knock at the door, Fluttershy answered it promptly, it was Concord with a white rabbit kicking his left foreleg. "I found this little guy out on the road, seemed very frightened" he explained as he gently pushed the little creature towards the mare before shutting the door and leaving the property, not even noticing the shattered windows. Fluttershy happily picked up Angel and cuddled him closely to her chest, relieved of her stress. The mare put Angel down after the little reunion and went about cleaning up the house.

Ponyville Park: 5 minutes later…

Concord sat on the edge of the lake that sat in the center of Ponyville Park, comfortably sleeping on the grass. He was just finishing a rather happy dream when the sweet tune of a lyre wafted into his ears and woke him up. He looked across the lake and saw a pale green mare on the other side of the water. Concord waved politely to the pony as he sat up and brushed some grass off his back, he got a similar wave in return as the mare plucked the strings of the instrument and created the soft and soothing music. Concord turned himself around and discretely removed his armour disk and began to calibrate some of its functions whilst listening to the music the lyre-playing pony produced. He was halfway through reactivating the overshield function when the music stopped suddenly. Concord looked over his shoulder and noticed the mare was fiddling with her instrument, the stallion replaced his armour disc back on his chest and swiveled himself around to face the pony. He looked at her reflection on the water as to avoid suspicion and noticed that the mare had drawn out a gun stock of some sort. He continued to observe her and watched as she calmly split her lyre in two and clipped them to the stock, it was then Concord realized that this mare was putting together a crossbow of some sort, she was an assassin. The stallion waited silently and watched the mare's reflection on the clear water, carefully taking note of her actions. A few seconds of waiting revealed she was carrying poisoned arrows, hence the reason why the arrow tips were so shiny as they were covered in some form of deadly toxin. Concord began to feel on edge as he saw the mare finishing her crossbow and preparing to fire, he was running out of time. 'My armour disk's shields are deactivated… buck' Concord thought as the he saw the mare raise the crossbow, it was getting serious now. He sat completely still and waited, and waited, and waited some more. Then a woodpecker began to peck into a tree nearby, that was when the mare fired her weapon. The arrow sailed through the air towards Concord at a speed only rivaled by Rainbow Dash. Concord acted on pure instinct and ducked, letting the arrow pass safely overhead and lodge itself into a tree somewhere behind Concord. The stallion sprang to his feet and faced the pony who had just failed in her attempt in assassinating him. The mare was not fazed by the death glare Concord was giving her and instead calmly put her crossbow back into a case that she had hidden behind herself, and then pulled out a deep red hoodie. She put on the garment and flipped the hood over her head, obscuring her eyes and any notable features that anypony could possibly use to identify her. Concord gritted his teeth and slipped his goggles over his eyes, signalling he was willing to fight this mare. The opposing pony did not comply and instead turned tail and galloped away with an admirable speed back towards Ponyville. Concord quickly gave chase and hurriedly ran around the edge of the lake until he was on the same road the mare had taken. The chase had begun.

The assassin pony skidded slightly as she took a sharp right onto the road that would lead her to the exit of the park, her escape plan working flawlessly. She saw the exit looming up ahead and kicked her hooves in high gear, even adding a little bit of unicorn magic to assist her in increasing her speed. She stormed through the exit and barreled past a small group of school foals. The teacher threw a silent insult at the mare before returning to guiding her class through ponyville. But then it was Concord who leapt over the fillies and colts, and this time the teacher threw a full on barrage of insults at the stallion, not even caring that there were some very young children right next to her who were hearing all the foul language she was spouting. Anyway, Concord was somehow managing to keep pace with the assassin pony but was slowly losing steam as the chase began to take a turn for the worse as the attacker disappeared into a large crowd of bustling townsfolk. The prussian stallion was not happy about this little twist at all and proceeded to dive into the crowd when he noticed the mare slinking off into an alleyway. "Oh no you don't" Concord muttered cockily and dashed over to the alley. He found the mare leaning against a wall, panting heavily as she tried to regain her breath, her weapon case lying next to her. Concord approached the mare cautiously and quickly snatched the weapon case away from her reach and jumped back a few feet as the mare swung a hoof right at him. Concord thankfully was not within striking distance and instead watched as the assassin missed her target and instead struck the solid brick wall of the building she was leaning against. The mare screamed and Concord quickly stuck a hoof over her mouth "shut the buck up!" he snapped. Concord waited for the mare to calm down and then lifted his hoof off her muzzle to allow her some breath. But he soon regretted his decision and was met with a kick to the face, dazing him and bringing him onto the edge of unconsciousness due the force of the blow. He staggered around like a drunken mule for a few seconds, but that was all the assassin needed to make her escape, and with that she ran off once again. Concord watched from his blurred vision as the assailant made her getaway, he began to attempt running forwards but instead collapsed on the ground, knocked completely unconscious.

Golden Oaks Library: 5:23pm.

Concord blinked his eyes a few times and heard somepony talking, however their voice was muffled and unrecognizable. He then remembered why he was like this 'that Celestia damned assassin' he thought as he started to regain his hearing. He soon recognized the voices of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Concord rapidly blinked his eyes a few more times and soon his vision cleared, his peripherals now all working as they should. The stallion slowly began to raise himself off of the couch he had been laid out upon, attracting the attention of Rainbow and Twilight immediately. "Well look who decided to wake!" Rainbow exclaimed cheekily, Concord chuckled as he pushed himself off the couch and stretched his legs with a few pops and snaps as he moved his stiff joints. Twilight trotted up to the stallion and levitated his armour disk into his waiting hooves. Concord reattached the disk back onto his chest, the blue gem lighting up as if it was happy to be reunited with its master. "You're lucky that we were nearby when you were knocked out, your illusion spell dissipated when you went out" Twilight explained. Concord looked at his sides, and sure enough, his wings were there. "If we didn't find you where you were, then the whole town would have found out that you are an alicorn" Rainbow said, Concord felt relieved after hearing this, at least his secret was safe for now. "Thank you both, I am eternally grateful for your service" Concord thanked. The stallion lit up his horn and reapplied the illusion spell to his wings, then he covered his armour disk with his neckerchief and left Golden Oaks library. He had a mission now, and that was to find that pony and bring her to justice.

Ponyville square: 8:02pm.

Concord sat on one of the benches that lined the edges of the town square, listening to a message Twilight had somehow recorded on the armour disc. "Thanks to some DNA determining magic I read up on, I have discovered that the weapon case you brought back along with the crossbow both belong to a local musician called Lyra Heartstrings. She lives on one of the streets next to town square, which one is a whole 'nother mystery. Try looking around with an invisibility spell on, see if you can find out where she is". Concord was thankful that he now had some information to go on other than just the fact that this pony wore a deep red hoodie and was almost successful at killing him. The stallion placed his armour disk back onto his chest and covered it before beginning his search for Heartstrings. The stallion trotted down the street directly in front of the town square, removing his disguise spell and replacing it with an invisibility spell. He checked the first house, nothing to hint Lyra was there. Concord continued to check the streets, his aqua green eyes scanning to and fro in the hopes of finding the house that belonged to his attacker. But after what seemed like years, Concord began to think Twilight had sent him on a wild goose chase until he heard the all too familiar sound of a lyre being played somewhere far off to his left. He turned and galloped towards the music, intent on finding its source. Just as the music began to get louder, it stopped. Concord was puzzled 'did she hear me or something?' he thought. He then heard the lyre again except now it was playing an old war song, one that present time ponies couldn't possibly know considering that any records of the ancient times of Equestria were long lost to history's ruthless claws. Concord swiveled his ears around and heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching him from behind, normally he would have dismissed as a pony who was either heading home from a good few hours at the pub or was simply late home, but in this circumstance the hoofsteps meant his attacker had shown up to try and finish what she had started. "So you decided to come back and impale an arrow in my head haven't you Lyra? Maybe this time you'll actually hit your target" Concord jeered at Heartstrings. The mint green mare snorted indignantly and snapped "at least I got closer than those assassins back in your day!". Concord howled with laughter "those blockheads? Please, they couldn't even get past the trainee guards!" he said between the small fits of laughter. Lyra gritted her teeth, the combined annoyance that she had already failed her mission once and had displeased her master made her very mad indeed. "You know what, I have had it with your insolence! I am not going to let you walk away from this alive Concord!" the mare yelled and drew out a new crossbow from somewhere beneath her jacket, a brand new bolt already in launching position. Concord got into a fighting stance and prepared to knock some sense into the pony.

Concord Blast Battle Log #551: 15th of April 400BNM.

Encountered another one of those damned cultists while out on a diplomatic mission. I really need to get some more guards with me when I am in public, the last thing I need is to have to fight somepony in front of innocent townsfolk. But for now I must make do with what I have. Also as a note, the assassin belonged to that group of ponies in the deep red hoods. I really hope they don't cause me too much trouble in the future.

Lyra was the first to make a move, instantly charging at Concord and giving hims a sharp left hook in the face. Concord returned the attack with a powerful kick from his hind legs, striking the musician square in the gut. Lyra quickly recovered and swept Concord's two front legs out from underneath him, sending the stallion face first into the ground with a thud. Lyra then attempted to crush Concord's head beneath her hooves. Thankfully Concord rolled to the side and the crushing blow missed his head completely. The stallion headbutted Lyra in the side and sent the mare flying into a pile of rubbish bins. Concord then got an extremely unexpected surprise when Lyra attached a device to her right fore hoof as she recovered from her little flight. The device was purely mechanical, with gears and wires exposed on it's surface. But this creation bore a feature totally unknown to Concord, a set of five slim appendages. Lyra wiggled her 'hands' fingers and grabbed her crossbow off the ground with a slight grunt, Concord recognized the fact that he must have injured her in some way. Lyra fired up her horn and drew a revolver out of her hoodie, now Concord realized he shouldn't have been so cocky before hoof. Concord then took a risk and planted a hoof upon his armour disk and hitting the power gem, then the familiar gold and silver and blue armour fanned out over the stallion's body and clanked into formation. "I believe it is time I bring this fight to a close don't you think Heartstrings?" he asked mockingly and scuffed the ground beneath him with one of his hooves. The musician howled and broke out into a gallop towards Concord with fire in her eyes. The stallion showed no signs of moving as the mare drew closer and closer to him and instead activated a full armour lockup, turning him into the pony version of a brick wall on steroids. A few seconds later and Lyra collided with Concord and a dull ring resounded throughout town square, akin to the sound the gong instrument would make. Concord looked at Lyra who had now collapsed at his hooves, her eyes spinning like windmills on a stormy night. "Had enough Lyra?" Concord taunted while his armour folded back into its compact disk mode. The mare groaned and curled up slightly. Concord went to pick up the mare but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his front right leg, he looked down and saw a syringe was now firmly stuck in his flesh, and the worst thing about that syringe was the contents were now gone from it's glass frame. Concord began to feel lightheaded and quickly acted on instinct and clapped his armour disk onto Lyra, and let the user detection software do the rest. As Concord flopped to the ground, his armour disk quickly snapped shut over Lyra's body and locked up it's joints immediately, encasing the mare in a prison of steel and wires.

Ponyville Medical Clinic: 10:00am.

Concord, for the second time since he returned to Ponyville, woke up with fuzzy sight and hearing. This time however he didn't have to wait as long for his senses to return to normal. When he regained his vision he identified the ponies in the room, Applejack, Rarity and somepony dressed in a police uniform. "So how long was I out this time? Did I beat my record?" Concord joked. Rarity scoffed while Applejack laughed at the stallion's statement "well if you must know darling, yes you did beat your record" the fashionista said with an edge of disgust in her voice. "Ah come on Rarity! Let the stallion have some fun!" Applejack insisted as she gave the pale white mare a playful nudge. Concord kindly asked the mares to give him some room and gently pushed himself off of the hospital bed and carefully placed his hooves on the floor. The stallion found his legs to be a bit wobbly at first but soon regained his posture, also removing the hospital gown he was wearing. Concord ran a hoof through his mane and ensured that it was in a decent state of scruffiness before he turned his attention to the two mares in the room. "So did my disguise disappear like last time?" he asked. "No it didn't. And it was a good thing that you and Lyra had yer lil' punch out at night instead of it being in broad daylight as that really would've caused a ruckus " Applejack commented. Concord breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his brow with a hoof. Rarity then produced Concord's goggles and neckerchief from a saddlebag on her back and passed them to the prussian stallion who took them with glee. Five minutes later and the trio trotted out of the hospital, expenses all paid thanks to Applejack. Concord thanked the two mares before heading for his house, which was thankfully near the very noticeable Golden Oaks Library.

When Concord arrived at his home, he quickly entered the building as a storm was on the horizon and the grey clouds were already blanketing the skies above Ponyville. But the stallion once again didn't take in his surroundings and missed the piece of paper that was tacked to the door. When the stallion closed the door the paper flapped around wildly, but when it settled, the message it bore was revealed.

The Hunt has begun Concord.

End Chapter 10…

Special Chapter #1 Complete.

New Bio unlocked: Concord Blast.

Concord Blast is the leader of the Light Empire (also known as the Lightnian Empire). He was born in 24535 Before Nightmare Moon (BNM) on a small lot of land purchased by Concord's father, Raven Blast. Raven Blast was a unicorn swords-pony with a certain level of power over the Canterlot Militia. He had bought the land the Light Kingdom was situated on when his wife, Nera had begun to work in the Canterlot court, headed by the ruler before Celestia, Star Plight. Raven built a simple farm on the property, but soon it grew as the income of money increased. Soon Raven and Nera upgraded to a massive 400-acre mansion with a small town included.

After Concord was born, he was quickly sent to Star's court, due to him being born an Alicorn, as to be trained in arcane magic and weaponry, there he created the first three pony androids known to history. The androids were known simply as, Jero-001, Fern-002, and Murk-003. Then Concord made another breakthrough with the 'folding armour' system, which allowed for the wielder of any armour to simply convert their armour into a compact circular disc. Concord was immediately rushed forward into kingship, thanks to his massive reputation throughout Canterlot, and became the ruler of the small island his parent's property sat upon. Concord then made the kingdom into what it was today and ruled over all with a gentle gaze, he became the most respected leader in Equestrian history next to Celestia and Star Plight within mere years.

This document was created on June 23rd of the year 25 BMN. Last edit was made: two days ago by ?.

**So that was Chapter 10! I really hope you guys appreciate the work I have put into this chapter as this story is part of my daily life now because I am fueled by the fact that there are genuine people reading this story and I want to give them more of what they are hopefully enjoying! Just before I go I'd just like to- hold on.**

**(Numerous clattering noises)**

**"Party Cannon baby!"**

**"Oh shi-"**

**'BOOM'**

**"Damn fourth wall just had to be breakable didn't it Pinkie?"**

**-WobbliestCrab**

**Watch out for party ponies, they're everywhere!**


	12. Chapter 11

**My loyal Crabs, it has arrived! The Light Kingdom Chronicles... Chapter Number 11! Sorry for the wait, but when your school just loves to give you absolutely awful assignments that take months to finish, you will find it rather hard to actually update your stories. I found this out the hard way, but thankfully I have managed to get the new chapter finished, albeit rather late however. Big thanks to Pikachu42 for the help with some parts of the story and also thank you for your patience! Anyway, as always I will see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 11: Aftermath.

Concord's house: Monday 4:00pm.

Concord sat on his couch, watching as the fire crackled and popped about in the fireplace. He had been sitting on the seat for some time now, and he was anything but enthusiastic about going outside in the rain. He almost dozed off into sleep when there was a knock at the door. Concord got off his seat and trotted over to the door, he grasped the handle with his magic and opened the door. Outside was a very rain drenched Spike holding an umbrella in his left hand. "Come in Spike, what do you need?" Concord quickly rushed to the bathroom cupboard to grab him a towel. He returned to the dragon who had sat down next to the fireplace and let the small reptile wrap himself up in the cloth. "So why are you here Spike?" Concord asked and sat back down on his sofa. "I had a letter for you, but it got completely soaked in the rain while I was on my way here, so I might as well just give you the brief version." Spike explained. "The police commissioner wants you at the P.P.D sometime tonight so you can get Lyra out of your armour". Concord was puzzled and asked "How do they know that it belongs to me?" Spike replied "Rarity may or may not have told them a subtle lie to keep your secret identity safe for a bit longer." The dragon then turned back to the fire and continued to warm himself. Concord slid off of the sofa and went to go and get a form of coat, only to discover he didn't even own any other clothes besides his goggles and neckerchief. The stallion grumbled and headed for the front door; just as he was about to leave, he called to Spike, "Keep an eye on the house while I am gone Spike, I shouldn't take too long anyway!" Concord opened the door and stepped out into the rain and the water droplets matted down his coat and mane, much to his annoyance. "Oh well, at least I won't be long" he mumbled and made haste for the Ponyville Police Department.

Ponyville Police Department: 4:11pm.

Concord trotted through the front door of the building and checked in at the reception desk. He took a seat on one of the rooms waiting chairs and levitated a newspaper up in front of his face to read. A few moments later he was called to report to the commissioner's office by one of the officers. Concord got up from his seat and replaced the newspaper in its original spot then headed for the office. When he entered the room, he was greeted by a stern looking mare wearing aviator sunglasses and a navy blue trench coat. "Sit down" she ordered, Concord sat down on a chair in front of the mare's desk. "So, do you know why you are here?" she asked, to which Concord replied "I'm here to speak to Lyra Heartstrings and retrieve something of mine". The mare grunted and opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a folder, inside were pictures of ponies wearing hoodies similar to Lyra's. All the ponies' jackets were the same shade of maroon, the same symbol sewn on the area where their cutie marks would normally be. "I can say this, it ain't the first time we have had to deal with these lot mister Concord, in fact only a few of 'em have been caught, but they always somehow just, disappear!" Concord was puzzled. "Disappear?" he asked. "Yep. One of our officers on guard was found knocked out once, and when he woke up, he simply said that he saw them disappear in purple smoke. We don' know if he told the truth or not, ya know, what with the being knocked out thing." Concord frowned and then stated, "I have dealt with ponies like these before, and just as you have described, they always slip through our hooves when we capture them." The commissioner added, "Her Highness herself told us to keep an eye out for anypony wearing jackets like this and or acting suspiciously around you and your friends". 'So that's how they know my real name.' thought Concord, before getting the point. "So you called me here why exactly?". The mare got off her seat and motioned for the stallion to follow her into another room. The two trotted out of the office and down the hallway towards a very secure looking door, similar to the one Concord had incorporated with the Cryogenics room entrance. The commissioner withdrew a keycard from a pocket in her coat and swiped it against a panel on the door and replaced it back in her pocket. Concord watched as the door opened, only to reveal another door, which opened to reveal another door. "How many doors does one room need?" Concord asked the mare, who replied sternly "when your Police Department has to occasionally hold some of the most notorious criminals known to Equestria, you need all the security you can get". Finally the last door opened and the two ponies entered the room and Concord took in the vast amount of cells that decorated the massive expanse. The commissioner calmly trotted past the cells, ignoring the insults the inmates threw at her. Concord stuck close to the mare, the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with a hundred potty-mouthed ponies with attitudes! The two stopped at another large steel door and the commissioner stated, "This is where we have Heartstrings locked in, we already have an agent of ours interrogating her as we speak, I'm sure the agent would like to hear your side of the story." Concord replied, "Would you mind if I take my armour disc off of Heartstrings once I'm in the room?" and the mare nodded. Concord smiled and waited for the commissioner to open the door, subconsciously whistling an old war song. When the door opened Concord saw Lyra Heartstrings, still encased in his armour, standing in the middle of a purely white room. Concord trotted in and inspected his armour, taking note of multiple dents and scratches in the metal; it seemed that some of the police force had attempted to get Lyra out prematurely. The blue stallion groaned when he saw that some of the plating was extremely damaged, in some cases they were completely gone. Concord face hoofed indignantly and muttered some rather rude words to himself before pressing his hoof onto the armour disc's gem and let the device scan his hoof. A few moments later and the armour quickly retracted from Lyra's body and set her free again. Concord placed the disc back on his chest and covered it. "Well now that we have gotten you out of that, let's get you out of here" he said and gestured for the mare to follow him. "Wait, you can't be serious. You're just letting me walk out the door?" she asked as she followed the stallion out of the detention cell. "I wouldn't say that I'm letting you walk out the door, more like I am taking you to your friend so you can explain this whole thing to her and also give me the information I need," Concord explained while he signed Lyra out of the police department. Lyra's eyes widened and she began to sweat "No no no, I'll answer any question you have right now! I promise! Just don't make me have to tell BonBon about my secret! Anything but that!" she pleaded. Concord showed no remorse for the pony as he dragged her sobbing body all the way to her house, ignoring the looks other ponies threw at him. "The sooner you tell your friend about why your little attempt at killing me, the sooner I can stop having to put up with your whining," Concord stated flatly and continued to haul the sobbing mess that was Lyra Heartstrings through the streets of Ponyville.

Heartstrings/Drops Residence: 4:30pm.

Concord took another sip of his tea as Lyra finished her complete explanation of her attack on Concord. Her friend Bonbon, who was sitting next to Concord on the couch, was in complete shock from the revelation that was presented to her. The cream coloured mare's lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. Bonbon then roared at her friend and yelled with a voice that was both destructive anger and undying sadness "How could you?! I told you about my secret identity, but you've kept yours hidden all this time?! I thought we were friends! BFFs! But I can clearly see now that that isn't the case! I'm done with our friendship Lyra Heartstrings, and you have nopony to blame for it but yourself!" The mare turned tail and galloped up the stairs to her room, leaving behind a trail of tear stains on the carpet behind her. Concord looked at Lyra, who was gazing sadly at the stairs her friend had used, and advised "You should go and apologise to her she's your best friend for Celestia's sake." Lyra pulled herself together and nodded "You're right, I just... *sigh* Wish I had never chose to listen to that pony all those years ago,". Lyra then got off the chair she was on and hurried up to her friend's room and left Concord to ponder over the sentence she left him with.

Lyra stood outside her sobbing friend's door, anxiously knocking on the door in hopes of getting into her friend's room. "Bonbon, come on let me in, I want to apologise for this whole mess," she pleaded, all she got was another loud round of crying from her friend. Lyra grasped the doorknob with her magic and swung the door open. The mare gasped as she saw a vaporous pony sitting on the bed next to her friend. The gas that emanated from Darknia's body was slowly seeping into Bonbon's nostrils, steadily corrupting her soul with the dark energies that toiled within Darknia's heart. Lyra screamed and Concord was instantly alerted to her side. The second Concord laid eyes upon Darknia, he slapped his armour gem and let it transform into its complete mode. Concord spoke up first "Hooves off the mare Darknia!" the stallion then summoned his sword and it appeared in a cluster of yellow pixels, he pointed it at Darknia and continued "Or else I will have to be cleaning this bad boy for a week,". Darknia was not fazed and grinned maniacally "Very well then Concord, if I can't have this one," she hissed "THEN I'LL TAKE THE OTHER ONE INSTEAD!" and she launched herself at Lyra. Concord watched as Darknia quickly phased into into Lyra and disappeared from sight. Suddenly the mint mare's eyes suddenly turned a deep shade of purple and she roared an unearthly roar, one that echoed for miles around. Concord's eyes widened as he saw the mare charge at him, in fact she was galloping so fast all he saw was a mint green blur coming towards him. Concord barely had time to react before he was sent flying across the room and he collided with the wall, kicking the wind out of him. He gasped for air as he fell to the ground, almost choking on his saliva. Concord looked up and saw Lyra slowly advancing towards him, her eyes emitting a grey gas that made Concord feel weak in the knees. All of a sudden a rather dazed Bonbon appeared out of nowhere and took a swipe at Lyra, who simply shoved her out of the way. "Don't you dare even try to attack me you swine!" yelled Lyra and she continued her advance, the grey gas seeping from her eyes starting to create blue sparks of energy. Concord regained his footing and lit up his horn, he may not have had the luxury of his wings at the time, but at least he had his magical skills. Before he could even charge up a spell, Lyra pounced and pinned him against the wall and gave him two quick punches across the face, to which Concord replied with a hearty headbutt and sent Lyra staggering backwards. Lyra grunted and fired up her horn, Concord yelled in surprise as he was enveloped in Lyra's golden magic aura. The mare grinned and then promptly threw Concord out of the room's window. Concord screamed as he flew further and further away from the house.

The stallion was sent flying directly down the street and he crashed directly into Golden Oaks Library, his entrance being welcomed by a very shocked Twilight Sparkle. "CONCORD? What in the name of Celestia do you think you are doing, smashing through my wall like that?!" she hollered. Concord huffed and got up "let's just say that we are now dealing with a rather possessed lyre playing unicorn" he said bluntly. Twilight was confused, but she soon realized what Concord was talking about when Bonbon came flying through the hole Concord had created, landing directly on top of the prussian blue stallion. Twilight gasped and rushed to help the mare up "My goodness, are you alright?" she asked and Bonbon replied with a wheeze, "I've had better days your highness". Concord smirked and got back on his hooves, activating his armour disc as he stood up. As Concord let his armour encase his head, he heard an otherworldly howl from somewhere down the street and he knew that Lyra was already on her way. "Twilight, keep Bonbon safe, I'll hold off Darklyra for as long as possible. Once you have made sure Bonbon is safe, get back over here and lend a hoof!" Concord relented. Twilight nodded and galloped away with Bonbon in tow and thus leaving Concord to fend off the possessed mare. "Alright then Darknia, you wanna dance, then cue the lyre cause I am going to bust some serious moves!"

Concord stepped outside of Golden Oaks library and set his eyes upon Darklyra, who was now turning a rather disturbing shade of grey and purple. The forsaken mare looked at Concord and charged up another spell, letting it rip moments later and sending Concord ducking for cover behind the Golden Oaks Library sign. Concord summoned his sword and swung it around with his magic. Lyra growled and charged at Concord again, her eyes glowing in the evening sunlight. Concord waited for Lyra to get close enough and then swung his sword at her, but he stopped mid-swing and realised what would happen if he did such a thing. His thoughts distracted him long enough for Darklyra to get a fix on him and take a swing at his muzzle, her hoof impacted loudly on the metal face plates. Concord staggered back and ran out into the open street, taking note of the new dent in his facial protection. 'I can't hurt Darknia, as much as I hate to say it, but she is merely using another body. And if I kill that body, she will simply find another, Lyra also doesn't deserve to die either. What do I do, what do I do?' he thought as he got into a new stance and raised his hooves. Darklyra lunged at him and struck him in the chest and Concord retaliated with a ducking uppercut to the jaw. Darklyra suddenly teleported behind Concord and smacked him in the back of the head. Concord went in for another attack but was brutally met with a powerful punch to the face from Darklyra and he was sent sprawling across the street. Before Concord could even regain his footing, he was pinned against a building by Lyra, and she showed no mercy and started to repeatedly punch his face. Off on the sidelines stood Bonbon, watching in horror as her best friend beat the magic out of the stallion "This is bad, really really bad!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "Darknia's completely possessed her!" BonBon replied, fearing for Concord, and for her friend. "Bad, bad, bad! At this point, Darknia could go on like this until Lyra is-" "Don't! Say it!" BonBon interrupted and then asked "Is there nothing we can do?" "I'm not sure," Twilight replied, "only something close to her heart could bring her out of this!" BonBon's eyes widened, and she ran back inside, searching. "BonBon! Where are you going?!" Twilight called, but she received no reply and hesitantly watched the battle unfold in front of her.

Concord was still being beat to a pulp. He had managed a few weak kicks to Lyra's legs, as he did not wish to hurt her, but what could he do? As far as he knew, this could be Darknia's body for quite some time! The stallion flailed about in the mare's grasp, his muzzle was bleeding rather badly from all the punishment it was taking and his left eye was going purple. "Lyra, stop!" he cried between blows but Darklyra showed no signs of letting up and instead smashed Concord's head against the wall before continuing to pummel him closer and closer to death. Lyra reared up for another attack when the soothing music of lyre wafted into her ears, the mare then let go of Concord and he slumped to the ground. The mare turned around and saw Bonbon playing Lyra's favourite lyre, Darklyra seemed to take an interest in the music and slowly trotted towards the cream coloured candy maker. As Darklyra got closer and closer to the music, a blob of purple and grey vapour started to form on her head. Concord staggered to his feet and watched as the blob took the form of Darknia and start to protest against Lyra's actions. "What are you doing you imbecile?! Stop! I order you to stop! Stop this instant!" she wailed, but her cries fell on deaf ears and Lyra continued to advance towards the lyre-playing Bonbon. Concord smirked and trotted over to Lyra, he looked at Darknia and chuckled "I guess this generation of ponies are more resilient to filth like you huh Darknia?" he mocked. Darknia growled and replied "you may have saved this one Concord, but there are more ponies infected with my power, it will take you countless years to find them all and free them! Good luck!" And with that, Darknia completely severed her link to Lyra and disappeared into thin air. Lyra shook her head and stared at her friend, listening to the tune she created with fascination. When Bonbon finally stopped playing she got up and embraced her friend happily. "Oh Lyra! Thank Celestia you are safe!" she cried, the mare then buried her face in Lyra's shoulders and sobbed tears of happiness. Concord watched as the two friends hugged each other warmly and looked at Twilight "nice work with the whole 'something personal to her will set her free' thing". Twilight smiled and trotted over to Concord "well I wouldn't have been able to put my knowledge to the test if you were not here Concord" she thanked and patted the stallion on the back, signifying a job well done. Concord looked down the street behind Golden Oaks library, and saw the sunset shining brightly through the park that sat at the end of the road. "I guess I can't really say I didn't do much today, that was quite exhilarating to be honest!" he commented as the fiery ball faded below the horizon and Twilight giggled at the statement. "Well I guess I better go home now, I'll trust those two to find their way back for now. See you later Twilight!" Concord said before turning tail and headed for home. The stallion felt the night air blow through his mane and put a hoof to his black eye which was already hurting like the blazes. Darknia's words echoed in Concord's mind, "There are more ponies infected with my power!" and he was slightly unnerved. 'How many more ponies are there in this town with Darknia controlling them? How many in Equestria? Maybe I should get Remington to come and provide me with protection after all... Or maybe I could provide that protection right now!' Concord marveled at his genius and broke into a gallop, he needed to get home so he could get to work.

**This took way longer than it should have, but at least it is finished. *Wipes sweat from forehead* I really hope you guys appreciate this! And as always, I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	13. Chapter 12

**And so my faithful Crabs, it is finished! The Light Kingdom Chronicles Chapter 12 has been completed and is now available for your reading leisure! I do hope you enjoy this chapter and I also wish to thank you for being so patient with this one! School was not merciful in this instance, but I pulled through!**

**Anyways, I'll see you fine Crabs at the bottom of the page!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 12: 01010010 01101111 01100111 01110101 01100101 00100000 01010010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100.

The Light Empire: Tuesday. 12:00pm. Remington's room.

Remington Shell sat on the side of his bed, a tablet hovering on one side of his head, and a calibration wrench on the other. He tightened another screw on his cybernetic leg and looked at the instructions on the tablet. Remington was about to turn off the device when a message from Concord appeared on the screen. "Morning Remington, I'll make this short, I have a meeting with the Mayor in five minutes. Your task for today will be to make sure all the defence lines are repaired and fully functional. I scheduled a test fire time for you lot test the cannons with hurting anything on the mainland. After that, get a report on the wall repairs" Concord explained. Remington saluted Concord and then closed the message. Remington was about to turn off the tablet when another message arrived, it was Concord again "Also, a friend of mine will be coming to the empire today. She would like to observe what we consider fashion in this city. Show her around if you have the time, she will most likely arrive on a helicopter". Remington grumbled "just great, a fashionista! Are you bloody kidding?" The red stallion slapped the tablet down on the bed and went to his closet. He put on a black vest and some aviator shades, his usual commander attire for when he was off duty. He left the room and headed for the helipads to await for the fashion pony's arrival.

Chopper 094.

Rarity gazed out the window of the helicopter, watching the ocean whizz by thousands of meters below. She sat up straight when a soldier entered the cargo bay of the chopper. "Miss Belle, we are fast approaching our destination, I suggest you buckle up. We are experiencing some minor computer issues and that may or may not affect our landing, so caution is advised" she said before leaving. Rarity clipped her seatbelt buckle into the socket and waited. A minute later the helicopter started to go down and soon it touched down on the helipad. Rarity unclipped her seatbelt and went to the side of the cargo bay and waited for the door to open. Meanwhile, Remington and Benelli were standing outside the helicopter and were exchanging minor conversation while the helicopter crew got to work on shutting down the vehicle and getting Rarity off. "I really hope she doesn't interfere with my task, that's the last thing I want to deal with today" Remington stated. "I'm sure she will be fine, if Concord is friends with her, then she will do anything but interfere with your assignment. Just trust her Remmy" Benelli said. Remington put a hoof on his wife's shoulder and pulled her closer to him as the chopper bay door opened and Rarity trotted out. Benelli was the first to speak "Welcome to the Lightnian Empire, I am Medical Officer Benelli and this is my husband Commander Remington. It is a pleasure to meet you". Rarity replied "Well if I am given the chance by Concord Blast to not only visit his empire but to also get the city's fashion into mass production, I simply can't resist Mrs Benelli!" Remington rolled his eyes and left the helipad. 'The sooner you get to work, the better. She won't bother you where you're going.' he thought as he entered an elevator. Remington inserted a key into a socket in the wall and pressed a number on the panel. The doors slid shut and a catchy tune started to play on the elevator's speaker. The lift began to silently descend the elevator shaft; the doors opened a few moments later, and with a clipboard and pencil held in his magic aura, Remington got to work.

Meanwhile, Rarity was waiting at a monorail station for a train to take her into the inner city. The mare looked around the platform, there were only two other ponies with her; they were both construction workers who had been sent to assist with rebuilding some of the empire's walls. Time had not been kind to the kingdom, and most of the outer walls had crumbled from age and vines had grown over some of the buildings, so Remington and Benelli had decided to ask Celestia for some assistance with the project. The sun princess had lended an entire workforce of construction ponies to the Light Empire and repairs were already nearing completion. Rarity heard the train approaching and readied to board. The monorail train slid into the station and stopped at the platform, the doors hissed open and a few ponies disembarked the train. Rarity board the train and sat down next to a small unicorn filly who was leafing through what seemed to be a technology magazine based around thruster and jet propulsion systems. There was a disc similar to the one Concord wore sat on the seat next to the filly along with a saddlebag with the Empire's logo emblazoned on the front pouch. Rarity was curious about the disc and tapped the filly on the shoulder "Excuse me dear," the white mare asked "but what is that disc you have there?" The filly picked up her disc and held it in her hoof, she tapped the center of the disc and it expanded out over her hoof, only going up to her knee however. "It's just a little project I have been working on, it's based of Sir Concord's armour disc. I have only been able to get it to cover my leg halfway and that is it" the filly explained. Rarity was quite amazed by the filly's intellect, she was no genius herself but she knew that it was not common for such a young foal to be able to construct such a device. "Who taught you how to make that thing dear?" asked Rarity, the filly replied "I can't say, I'm not allowed to." Rarity pressed no further and the monorail disappeared into a tunnel and slipped out the other end. The train rounded a corner and slowed down at another station, a sign hanging above the platform designating what district the train had entered. Rarity exited the train and entered the shopping district with her head held high. The mare looked around the district, the road was clean of any junk, the sidewalks had trees placed in equal distances away from each other and the buildings were in pristine condition. Ponies were bustling about, some were having lunch at one of the varied cafes, some were wearing the fabulous suits and dresses that they had bought from one of the many shops that lined the street. Rarity had never seen a place so busy in her life, and seeing as she had traversed to many of the fashion capitals of Equestria, that's saying something! The mare galloped over to a shop and gazed into the window, eyeing some of the stunning dresses that were on display. The dresses were like nothing she had ever seen! "Wonderful contrasting colours, not too soft and not too hard designs, and just look at that incredible fabric!" Rarity squealed. The mare dashed into the store and within minutes, she walked out with a bag filled with dresses upon dresses. Rarity eagerly anticipated starting a fashion line based upon these incredible designs! Rarity felt a presence behind her and saw the little filly again, trotting along the sidewalk. Rarity's keen eyes noticed the odd amounts of metal and scrap that was poking out of the filly's saddlebags. The white mare made a note to keep an eye out for her while she was there.

The hangars.

Remington had started his inspection run, and had decided to start with the barracks. The barracks were callosal rooms with the capacity to store well over seven hundred thousand android soldiers, or twenty large aircraft, but mostly they were used for housing androids more than anything. The androids were all lined up perfectly, and they were categorised by their model, type and rank. Commanders, who were distinguishable by the thick blue stripe running around their forehead, were at the front of the pack. They would command a medium sized group of Androids in a squadron of twenty. Officers, who could be identified with a red zig zag emblazoned diagonally across their muzzles, were next to the Commanders. They would work alongside the Commanders as a backup in case the Commander was destroyed during a battle. Scouts, pegasus robots with a large yellow dot around their left eye, stood behind the Commanders. They were not bound to a squadron as they only served to perform reconnaissance runs above enemy lines. Communication Androids, these ones identified by purple stripes on their body, were next to the Scouts. They were responsible for relaying orders to Commanders, updating HQ on what was happening in the battle and dishing out orders to the soldiers. Then finally there were the Sappers, characterized by a green wrench emblem on the side of their face, they handled the nitty gritty parts of the battle. They would be tasked with building barricades, temporary railway lines, defence trenches and artillery bunkers. The rest of the androids formed up the grunts of the army. Remington had to ensure that the robots were functional, after all they had been left in place for 10'000 years. Remington found the technician crew and ordered them to activate the androids for a test run. The stallion went up a cargo lift to the control deck, the place that housed all the necessary controls for the hangar, such as the loading cranes and hangar doors. Remington waited patiently for a few minutes, keeping himself occupied by idly tapping his hoof on the floor. The stallion perked up when the loud humming noise of the Androids' cores filled the hangar. Remington pressed the P.A button on the control panel and barked the order "ABOUT FACE!". The androids turned around "ABOUT FACE!" Remington yelled for the second time and the androids turned around again, their blue robotic eyes all staring at him, waiting for more orders. Remington was satisfied with the results and then ordered "OFFLINE!". Then one by one, the androids went into sleep mode to conserve power. Remington smirked and ticked the androids off the list on his clipboard. He went into the next hangar and looked at the contents, another large lineup of android soldiers filled the room. He performed his actions again and headed into the next hangar and did again. He had to do this process another five times, it was boring work but it had to be done.

Meanwhile, somewhere far below the empire.

This room was dimly lit with only a few actual lights still in working order. Metal boxes filled with parts littered the room, some of them stacked all the way to the roof. In the center of the room was some kind of holding station, and it was occupied. The machine was held in place by wires and clamps. Its body was severely rusted in some areas and in some cases, like most of the other robots down in the Storage Sanctum, it was missing its two front legs along with its ears and eyes. From somewhere amongst the darkness, a figure emerged, and she was wearing a deep maroon hood. She levitated a high-tech walkie talkie out of her hood and spoke into it. "Teleport was successful, I have my eyes on the target. I will attach the teleport beacon now" she said and clamped a small silver disc onto the android. The walkie talkie crackled and a voice spoke "we just picked up your beacon, relaying the target now". The mare put her device back into her jacket and watched the android disappear with a flash of electricity. The hooded mare then pulled another device out of her jacket and pressed a button, and moments later she too disappeared in a flash of energy.

The Artillery Line.

Remington exited the elevator and looked around the massive room, he had dealt with enough androids for one day and was glad to have completed the more time consuming part of his task. The room wrapped around the circumference of the entire Empire, providing an unbreakable defense line that could hold off an entire army if the need was present. The only sunlight the room ever got was the light that seeped in through the gaps in the wall where the artillery cannons would poke their barrels through; however in order to provide enough light for the workers there, there was a long line of LED lights hanging from the roof, illuminating the room in a white glow. The cannons were not a part of the empire's original plans, but when Darknia began her attacks on Equestria back in the old days, it was only necessary for a kingdom to have some form of defense in a time of conflict. Ponies were going about their work, wearing full body overalls to keep any sparks and dangerous chemicals off their skin. The guns were in a decent state, some only needing a new coat of paint, but some needing to be replaced completely. Remington marked the broken cannons with an X he would etch into the metal with a pocket knife he had stored in his pocket. Remington trotted over to a phone box mounted on the wall and dialed a few numbers on the keypad. The unicorn waited impatiently for somepony to pick up, tapping his hoof on the metal floor while he waited. Finally somepony picked up and Remington spoke into the phone "Commander Remington Shell, id number 55100394, requesting repairs at the Artillery Line." A robotic voice replied "Request and identification tag processed, sending orders now. Have a safe day, designate, Remington Shell." Remington hung the phone back up on its hook and headed towards one of the many exits halls. The stallion was pleased with his work, and ticked the artillery off of his checklist. Remington then left the Line through the large corridor.

Cryo-freeze Chamber.

Remington entered the room where he had been frozen for these past 10 thousand years. It appeared that all of the ice water had been removed by the androids. His job was to make sure all the technology was functioning properly. It was one of the more boring jobs of the bunch, but, then again, most were. Alas, they had to be done. At least he could be over and done with this job quickly. Remington trotted over to the control panel. "Commander Remington Shell, id number 55100394, requesting a scan of the cryo-chambers, scan style #3." "Request and identification tag processed, scanning cryo-chambers." Remington waited through the short scan period. As advanced as the Kingdom was, it couldn't be instant. After all, it had to check for life within, functioning equipment, clean areas, etc. "Scan completed. No life remains frozen. All water is cleared. Most equipment working normally. Chambers #482, #1852, #7931, #34674, #188204, and #1072412 require slight repairs." "What is needed?" Remington asked the voice. "A few wires have been damaged and the interface panel on #1852, as well as the information panel on #7931, require repairs." "Alright, contact the electricians, they'll know what needs to be done." Remington ordered. "Sending requests to any available engineers and electricians in range" said the automated voice. "Have a nice and safe day, designate: Remington Shell" it said cheerily before it clicked offline.

The Lightnian Empire Walls.

The wind whipped through Remington's mane and the smell of the ocean wafted into his nostrils. The view from the tops of the walls was one of the best Remington had ever seen. From where he was standing, you would be able to see the outlying farms and towns that dotted the island, each of them tucked away amidst the forests that were constantly buzzing with animal activity. All of the towns and farms were connected by a railway system, which wasn't in action right now since track repairs were underway. Remington had proposed to Benelli on top of the wall, so of course it had some sentimental value to him and his wife. The Wall was made out of concrete blocks with a seven inch thick plate of metal covering its sides and top. The walls were flat at their crest to allow ponies to walk along it, guard rails on either side of the walkway kept ponies from falling off. Every 200 meters, there was a telescope and a bench for ponies to use if they were tired or just wanted to have a gander at the island's picturesque views. Remington would have looked at the view for hours if he could, but right now he needed to get an update from the repair teams who were hard at work patching up large gaps and holes in the wall. Even though the walls were made of metal, 10'000 years of constant barrage from the weather really did a number to it, and so it was only necessary that they should be fixed. Remington looked below him and saw what he had came for, a repair team. The pegasi ponies would keep the new segments in line whilst a duo of hover-cranes slowly inserted the new piece into the area it would be replacing. Earth pony and unicorn workers would lay down cement to hold the segment in place once it was attached, then they would weld the metal covering on the concrete block to the adjacent blocks around it. Remington called down to the team "can one of you pegasus lads come up 'ere and give me a status update?" A lime green pegasus looked at his chief, a muscular and slightly overweight light brown earth pony with stubble on his face. The chief nodded and chucked a clipboard at the pegasus, who caught it and flew up to Remington. "Here you are sir" said the pegasus as Remington levitated the clipboard out of his mouth. The unicorn was silent for a moment as he read the sheets attached to the clipboard.

Team #1 has completed their assigned sections and are going to be assisting us with our work tomorrow.

Team #2 finished their job yesterday and have now focused their efforts on the middle east section of the walls.

Team #3 in the upper northeast section of the Walls have reported that they are almost done with their work and plan to move further along the wall sometime this week.

Team #4 (Us). We are hoping to have the last few bits of the job done by lunch time tomorrow. Birds have been a bit of problem due to our altitude, but we have made decent progress none the less.

Team #5 has reported that they need some more time in order to clear out some vegetation that has grown over some parts of the lower south section, they expect to be done by tomorrow if not earlier.

"Alright that seems to be all in order, I'll leave you to it" said Remington as he passed the clipboard back to the pegasus and trotted away, ticking off the Walls on his checklist. Remington looked down into the streets below and saw Rarity trotting around, her bright white coat made her stand out like a sore thumb.

Rarity was laden with bags of all shapes and sizes, every one of them was stuffed with dresses. The mare was tired from all of the walking she had done, not to mention the timezone change was making her even more drowsy than usual. She saw a bench and sat on it, dropping her bags at her side. She wheezed a little and took a few deep breaths. Rarity looked up at the sky and dropped off into a small daydream involving a lot of gems and dresses. The mare was just getting to a good bit when a noise startled her out of her trance, she looked around and heard the noise again. She looked at an alleyway on the other side of the street and the noise repeated itself, this time Rarity could identify that is was coming from said alleyway. Rarity picked up her bags and crossed the street, intent on investigating the noise. She left her bags leaning against a wall and peeked into the alleyway. She stifled a shriek when she saw what was in the alley, she looked again to make sure she was not seeing things in her drowsy state. But the android was still there, its head moving about as it scanned the environment with curiosity. 'That certainly doesn't look like any of the other robots I saw today' Rarity thought with worry. Her eyes widened when suddenly the android trotted out of the alleyway, it's rusted joints creaking loudly. Rarity stood perfectly still, praying that she would not be spotted by the monster. The robot looked around with its eyeless sockets, the single ear on its head swiveling about every so often. Then a civilian noticed the android and screamed, causing other pedestrians to look at where she was screaming from and thus seeing the disheveled android. The whole street erupted into chaos as ponies fled from the terrifying robot. Rarity wasted no time in trying to sneak away, but her efforts were futile as suddenly out of nowhere a pony wearing a deep red hood materialized out of thin air. Rarity screamed in fear from the sudden surprise she received and unfortunately attracting the attention of the android. The assassin nodded and the android quickly entangled Rarity in some of the cables and wires that hung from its body. Rarity continued to scream at the top of her lungs, irritating the assassin. The assassin finally snapped and levitated a pistol out her her jacket and pointed it at Rarity, she then spoke in a muffled voice "either you shut your trap, or I'll have to shut it for you!" Rarity complied and shut up, her eyes staring at the gun that was pointed at her head. Rarity started to sweat as the android started to make some rather odd noises, smoke billowed out from the cracks in its broken covering. Then out of the androids back sprouted vaporous black tentacles, each one dotted with spikes and two of them ending with a spinning saw blade. The android's eye sockets filled up with a purple gas and it cackled evilly. "Well done my disciple, this little test seems to have worked. Now lets see what I can do with all of this succulent POWER!" Dark-N1A roared. Rarity wanted to scream again, but the gun told her otherwise. Rarity watched helplessly as Dark-N1A began to swing her appendages around maniacally, only missing the civilians who were still escaping by mere inches. "Yes run you little ants RUN!" yelled the possessed robot. Dark-N1A laughed as the ponies ran in fright, their screams heard by everyone in the Empire. Amidst the chaos however, one filly stood still with a stern look on her face. Her yellow mane whipped about in the evening wind and her pink fur shone slightly in the sunlight, her horn was glowing angrily with a pink aura. Dark-N1A noticed the filly and sneered at her "oh what are you going to prove by standing there looking all heroic and stuff little filly? Do you think you stand a chance against me? Oh I'm so bucking scared!" The filly said nothing and instead reached into her saddlebag and pulled her disc out of it. The filly clapped the disc onto her hoof and pressed the button in the center, the metal then expanded over her leg and a pink light glowed on the sole of the hoof. "My name is Villio Carrel. And I will not tolerate you terrorising these ponies! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Villio yelled angrily. Rarity craned her neck and looked at Villio, gasping as she recognized her from the monorail ride. Dark-N1A began to laugh but she was cut off when a pink bolt of energy blasted her in the face, shattering the plates on her muzzle. Villio kept her smoking hoof cannon trained on the android and she prepared to blast the enemy once again. "Why you little!" yelled Dark-N1A and she charged the filly. Villio simply teleported out of the way and let Dark-N1A continue to run at full speed, the android body was old, and its response time to certain commands was a little slow at times. Dark-N1A whizzed by Villio and crashed into a wall with a loud crack. Villio then blasted the android again, freeing a slightly rattled Rarity Belle from the wires she had been trapped in. The mare galloped over to Villio and stood at her side. The older mare lit up her horn and summoned a dozen sharp gems out of the ground below her, the crystals were glowing with energy and their sharp edges shone in the evening sunlight. Dark-N1A recovered from her little crash and charged the mares again.

Meanwhile, the assassin recorded all the data she could process. She grinned as Dark-N1A managed to land a blow to Rarity's side. Her enjoyment was cut short when she heard a sound. 'Chkk-chack' went the shotgun as it hovered behind the mare's head, enveloped with a golden aura. "I dinnae wee recommend turning around lass, unless ye be wanting an urgent facial reconstruction" Remington growled. The assassin smiled and without warning ducked down and swept Remington's legs out from underneath him. The stallion accidentally fired his shotgun, fortunately the little pellets impacted with nothing but a wall. Remington recovered quickly and whacked the mare with the butt of his shotgun before placing it on his back and smashing her in the face with a right hook. The mare staggered a bit from the sheer force of the blow but regained her composure and retaliated with a series of punches and kicks, only a few of them hit their targets but most of them missed altogether. "Ye call that fighting, I fight better than that when I'm bloomin drunk!" Remington taunted and then swung at the assassin, his attack being blocked by her hoof. The mare punched Remington with a powerful hoof to the face and followed it up with a flying axe kick, sending the stallion's face on a collision course with the ground. Remington's head impacted harshly with the road, a painful crunch was the only noise he made. Remington staggered to his feet and wiped his nose since it had started to bleed. "Alright, you seem to know what yer doing" Remington commented before unleashing a devastating left and right hook combo to the mare, he then brutally smashed her in the gut and picked her up with his magic. He threw the mare across the road and she crashed into a building. Remington charged towards the mare as she stood up again, only to be met with a blast of blue magic. The stallion winced as the magic singed his fur a little bit. He fired up his magic and returned fire with several rapid blasts of his gold magic, his shots homing in on the assassin and exploding with each hit. The mare flipped herself upright in mid air and unleashed another blast of her blue magic before teleporting herself back down onto the ground and charging at Remington with a magic infused charge attack. Remington was too slow with his dodge and was met with a heavy bash to his stomach. The stallion rolled off of the mare and kicked her in the side. Remington then fired another blast of his magic at the mare, intent on only wounding her to make sure she would be unable to fight. But the mare suddenly returned fire with a continuous beam of magic, the two beams colliding mid flight and causing a small explosion as the two powers clashed. Remington held his ground and increased his power as the mare's own magic started to decay. "You know how to punch lass, but you don't seem to know much about fighting with magic!" Remington taunted with a grin as he continued to pour more and more power into his beam. The mare knew she couldn't win the fight, and so she decided that it was time for her to make her getaway. She stopped her blast and rolled out of the way of Remington's supercharged magic beam. She pulled her teleport beacon out her jacket and pressed the button, she disappeared in a flash of blue energy just as Remington ceased his attack. "Son of a Diamond Dog!" Remington cursed angrily. He shrugged his minor failure off of his mind and went back to Villio and Rarity to provide assistance with their fight.

Rarity had never fought against a robot before, let alone one possessed by an ancient force of evil. But she knew how to put up a fight when the time came. When she wasn't making dresses or grooming her mane, she would go out to the mountains and practice her gem magic. She learnt how to use the crystals as weapons one day when a couple of Alpine Timberwolves found her whilst she was searching for gemstones. This was her saving grace and also gave her a fighting chance in this situation. Rarity mercilessly pelted Dark-N1A with the sharp gemstones, the crystals making deep gashes in the metal of the possessed android. Villio suppressed Dark-N1A with her hoof cannon, the pink laser melting the metal into a white hot goo. Dark-N1A growled as she continued to take damage. "ENOUGH!" she yelled and the mechanical tentacles lashed out at the ponies, sending Villio and Rarity flying away. Dark-N1A got back up and howled to the heavens. She looked at the two ponies as they struggled to get back up on their own hooves. "Look at you two, so weak and frail. Allow me to put you out of your misery!" Dark-N1A laughed. She then thrust the sawblades towards Villio and Rarity, intent on turning the mares into nothing but piles of mince meat. Villio managed to block the attack with her hoof armour, the sudden clash of metal creating a shower of sparks. However Rarity was defenceless against the attack and watched helplessly as the sawblade lunged towards her. The mare accepted her fate and closed her eyes, patiently waiting for her immediate end. But her demise never came, instead rather something more of a miracle. Remington gritted his teeth as he felt the saw blade dig into his cybernetic hoof, the metal being slowly shredded by the android's relentless attack. Sparks flew everywhere, some of them hit Remington and sent small jabs of pain through his body. Rarity watched in awe as the stallion managed to hold his ground against the attack. The mare snapped out of her admiration and quickly rejoined the fight, her light blue magic blazing as she launched even more gems at Dark-N1A. The gems did damage the android, but it unfortunately wasn't enough to stop her. Rarity looked around for another means of stopping the possessed robot, the only thing she could find was the shotgun Remington had strapped on his back. The mare cut the strap and picked up the gun. With a somewhat dainty warcry, she galloped towards Dark-N1A and fired the shotgun. 'Bang! Chkk-chack! Bang! Chkk-chack!' went the weapon as Rarity mercilessly pelted the robot with the scattergun. Rarity ground to a halt right in front of Dark-N1A and aimed her shotgun directly between the robot's eye sockets. The android shrieked as Rarity then pulled the trigger and blew the contents of the robot's head out with an exceptionally loud 'BANG!'. The vapour in the eye sockets fizzled out and the tentacles disappeared, leaving only a pile of scrap and molten metal. Rarity dropped the shotgun and began to shake, the adrenaline rush finally slowing down. She looked behind her and saw Remington limping towards her, his prosthetic hoof sparking and shorting out as he walked. Villio trotted over to Rarity, her armour disc still attached to her hoof, it too was greatly damaged. Villio looked up at Rarity and smiled "thanks for the help miss" she thanked. Rarity replied "I cannot accept your thanks, you were the one who was brave enough to stand up to that monstrosity of a machine after all!" The two laughed for moment before Remington piped up in a joking voice "what, I don't get any thanks?" The two mares looked at the stallion and thanked him, Rarity even going as far as kissing him on the cheek as a sign of her appreciation. Remington blushed "thank ye, but I'm already married." Rarity smirked and then burst out into another fit of laughter, Remington and Villio joining her as well. The civilians heard the laughter and came out from their hiding spots, cheering for the three heroes that had just saved them from a very real threat. Remington pulled his clipboard out of his jacket and quickly scribbled something down on the bottom of the page.

Defeat possessed killer robot: Check.

Lightnian Empire Hospital, some time later.

"-and that should do it" Benelli said as she finished patching up Villio, Remington and Rarity with some bandages. "Thanks love" Remington said and he kissed his wife on her forehead as a token of his thanks. Benelli smiled and hugged her husband for a moment, she broke off the hug a few seconds later and turned her attention to her other patients. "Miss Belle, I recommend you allot yourself adequate time for you to recover from the whack that robot gave you. One of your ribs was slightly damaged, but it's nothing serious, a few days rest should take care of that" Benelli explained to the white mare. "As for you Villio, I suggest you rest as well, maybe even take a day off of school to allow your bruises and cuts to heal" she then explained to the smaller filly. Villio was excited with the prospect of missing a few days of school and she grinned happily from ear to ear. Rarity payed Benelli for her services and left with her bags of clothes hovering along behind her. Villio said goodbye to Remington and Benelli before leaving the hospital and heading for the monorail station. Now only Benelli and Remington were left in the room, the muffled sounds of the city outside being the only sound that could be heard. Remington was the first to speak up "at least I can't say I didn't have a boring day at work today, right?" Benelli chuckled for a moment before becoming a bit more serious "my question is how Darknia managed to possess that old robot. Is that sort of stuff even possible?" she asked. Remington pondered on the question, trying to come up with a response. "I would be surprised if was possession, but Darknia can only control living beings, and even then she wouldn't have been able to retain that control for as long as she did" Remington replied. Benelli was silent for a bit as she thought of any possibilities that could explain the event. "Maybe it was possession with a bit of technology thrown in the mix. Maybe like some kind of bypass that allowed Darknia to control the robot like she did. Maybe the assassin you fought had something to do with it, possibly acting as some sort of power source for Darknia to use so then she could control that android for as long as she did" Benelli theorized. Remington scratched his chin, "you may be onto something love" he said and added "I'll inform Concord about it in my report tonight, for now I suggest we shut up shop and head home." Benelli agreed and the two left the room. Benelli gathered her documents and her purse and Remington leant against the doorframe, waiting for his wife to finish. Benelli did one last look around her office and switched the lights off. The duo left the hospital and caught a bus back to their house.

Later. Shell Residence.

The bus pulled away from the bus stop, leaving Remington and Benelli to themselves. The couple trotted along the path in their garden and stopped at their doorstep. Benelli produced some keys out of her bag and unlocked the door. The two went inside and Remington started to cook dinner while Benelli went and washed herself up. The stallion expertly combined the ingredients together, akin to that of professional chefs, his end result being a rather tasty daisy pie. Remington put the meal into the oven to cook and went to wash himself as well in the other bathroom. Once he was done, he got the food out of the oven and set it down on the table, steam wafting out of the holes in the top of the pie. Benelli came downstairs - dressed in a light pink dressing gown - and smelt the meal with obvious hunger. Remington got two plates out of the cupboard along with cutlery for the two. He sat down at the table and cut a slice out of the pie for himself, Benelli joining him and cutting her own slice. The ponies tucked into their dinners happily, filling their bellies right up. Once they had finished eating, they put their dishes in the sink and went upstairs to the bedroom so they could sleep. Remington had a shower and changed into some pyjamas before climbing into bed with Benelli. They drifted off to sleep rather fast and soon their respective snores echoed throughout the house.

End of Chapter 12...

**And so concludes Chapter 12, chapters 13 and 14 hopefully should be uploaded soon-ish. It all really depends on whether or not I get pelted with homework or get a nasty writer's block. Anyhow, thanks for reading and I'll see you fine Crabs...**

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hello guys! Sorry for such a long wait, but a LOT of stuff happened in the past few months, my birthday being one of them. Once again, school was a main culprit, but I am taking strides to ensure I can still produce content for your reading leisure. Also, at the end of this chapter, I have included an author's note which I recommend you read to make sure you understand what is going on in the story at certain events.**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 13: Unlikely Allies.

Ponyville. Tuesday. 2:00pm. (Taking place on the same day as Chapter 12).

Concord looked at his armour disc with a glint of pride in his eyes. The last few hours of the day for him had involved him repairing the damaged plating on his armour. He had also added some upgrades to the device, the most noticeable one being two twin-barreled laser cannons he had scanned from a weapons magazine he managed to acquire from a military outlet in Ponyville. He read the text in the magazine again. The article read:

_Colton and co. 'Vixen' type twin barreled laser cannon._

_Manufactured by the prestigious Colton weapons company, the Vixen type laser cannon has been deemed as Celestia-grade by some of the most respected military personnel in Equestria. Anypony that sets eyes upon this weapon will be sure to think twice about starting any sort of riffraff with you! The cannons fully utilise the power of compressed energy particles to fire solid beams of plasma at whatever the operator may choose. The Vixen laser cannons also provide a nifty bubble shield in case of severe damage to internal firing chamber systems to avoid serious damage to both the operator and the device._

_This product pitch was brought to you courtesy of Colton and co. weapon manufacturers._

_Enjoy your day!_

_Corporal Jeremiah Colton, CEO of Colton and co. weapons manufacturers. Colton and co. weapon manufacturers does not take responsibility for any harm caused by our products. Please note that improper use of this weapon can have the potential to cause: death, severe burning, suffocation, loss of limbs, loss of blood, loss of life._

"Sounds like I made a good choice then" Concord mused, thankfully he knew how to handle weapons such as these. He clamped his armour back onto his chest and stowed the magazine on a bookshelf nearby.

Concord activated his armour and tried out his new weapons. The two cannon firing chambers formed out from the side plating beneath his wings as two medium sized, thin rectangular boxes, each one ornately decorated with angelic patterns. The barrels of the cannons popped out from the front edge of the boxes and a blue glow emanated from within the firing chamber. A low thrumming sound was produced by the cannons as they warmed themselves up. Once they were finished with their charging, Concord retracted the cannons and deactivated his armour, satisfied with his new weapons.

Concord placed his armour disc on the dining room table and went to the downstairs bathroom to wash up. All the work had left his fur covered in grease, sweat and stray metal shavings. The stallion entered the bathroom and tinted on the bath before settling into the warm water.

A few minutes later and Concord was done with his wash and he had taken a proper look around his house; as he had not had an introductory tour of it when it was finished. The house was a two story building, three if you counted the cellar below. The upstairs held the bedroom, bathroom, study and the balcony. The main floor was the home of the kitchen, living room, library and guest room. The cellar was empty, this was where Concord hoped to set up some sort of radio relay device and a new workshop for him to tinker in. Celestia had spared no expense and had adorned the house with all sorts of items, Zebrican tribal masks hung on the staircase wall, Germane weapon replicas hung on the living room wall, a specially made map of Equestria hung above the fireplace, a Japonese-made wireless telephone was perched on the kitchen bench and another sat on the upstairs bedroom bedside table, paintings of picturesque locations decorated some of the walls, and a large television was mounted to the right living room wall; besides that there were the usual amenities like a toilet and kitchen appliances. The house was made from red bricks covered in a neat layer of white plaster. The roof was made out of smooth metal slats that connected to each other with a simple interlocking system. Outside was a quaint little garden that contained a large quantity of flowers and trees that could only be found in the Canterlot gardens; the garden also had a white picket fence lining it's boundaries, completing the theme of the home.

Concord went upstairs and trotted out onto the balcony of his house before sitting down in the one of the two deck chairs that decorated the porch. He laid back in the seat and gazed up at the clouds high above him. It had been centuries since Concord had actually taken the time to simply look at the world around him, and he now remembered how beautiful this country was. Concord began to doze off in the warm Spring afternoon when suddenly three streaks of colour pierced the clouds and screamed overhead, and in the process giving Concord a miniature heart attack. The stallion leapt from his seat and watched as the streaks disappeared behind the clouds once more and the roaring sound faded. 'What in the name of Celestia was that?' Concord thought to himself. He got his answer a second later in the form of a flustered Rainbow Dash landing on the balcony. "Did you see that?!" she cried. "How could I not have seen that? They almost gave me a heart attack for bucks sake!" Concord replied "who were they?" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped and she yelled "how could you not know the Wonderbolts?! They're kind of the most awesome and cool flyers in all of Equestria!" she rattled. Concord retorted "I saw the old Wonderbolts in some of my visions through the time vortex, but everything went fuzzy towards the present day, so I never got to see their modern incarnation". Rainbow facehoofed and grabbed Concord by the foreleg. "Come on, it's time you got some history lessons!" she hollered excitedly and she flew off with a rather annoyed Concord in tow.

Cloudsdale, 5pm.

The sky-high city hadn't changed that much since the last time Concord had visited, most of the building designs were the same and a majority of the original ones were still intact. Concord looked up and saw a huge fleet of Pegasus slowly guide a huge cluster of clouds towards a slightly ominous looking factory, its black walls contrasting well with the dark grey skies above it, it was going to rain soon. The stallion could see a waterfall of rainbows freely flowing out of the bottom of the factory. He looked up and saw four towering funnels protruding from the factory. From the mouths of the funnels wafted a long line of dark grey clouds that seemed to be sagging a little on their undersides. "So why are those clouds so… bulbous?" Concord asked Rainbow. "Those clouds? Oh they're rain clouds the factory has made" she replied. "Back in my day, the Pegasi would gather and fill the clouds with water manually, not produce them in a factory" Concord explained. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, clearly not interested in being given a history lesson, and continued trotting through the Cloudsdale streets with Concord.

The duo soon arrived at some kind of airport. There was a long strip of tarmac running the length of the floating island it sat on and a control tower stood on its right next to a set of hangars. "So this is the Wonderbolt Headquarters?" Concord asked as he admired the design of the buildings. The stallion watched as another group of Pegasi spread their wings and took off from the runway in a V formation. Concord then heard a mare's voice calling out Rainbow's name. He averted his gaze from the other ponies and looked in the direction the calls came from. Leaning against the front of the closest hangar was a yellow pegasus mare, her mane was orange and swept back as if she had been through a lot of turbulence at some point. A pair of black tinted aviator sunglasses covered her eyes, a whistle hung around her neck and a dark blue Air Force Commander's Uniform covered her chest. "Rainbow Dash! It's been a while" Spitfire said warmly and she trotted up to the cyan pegasus and shook her hoof. "Nice to see you again ma'am" Rainbow acknowledged and saluted the commander. "So you're a military commander I take it?" Concord said, butting in on the reunion. "Oh yes I am. May I ask, but who are you?" Spitfire replied. "You can simply call me Cloud Flash" Concord said, resuming his false identity once again. "A pleasure to meet you" Spitfire said courteously and shook Cloud Flash's hoof. "Come on you two, me and the others were just about to go for a fly when you showed up" Spitfire explained and then asked Rainbow Dash "you up for a race Dasher?" Rainbow Dash smirked and galloped out onto the runway before getting into a takeoff stance, Spitfire joined her shortly after taking off her coat and glasses. Concord heard a countdown and watched as the two mares then took off at supersonic speeds, as confirmed by the duo of sonic booms they produced as they gained velocity. The stallion then had a very cheeky idea and quickly ducked behind the hangars and removed his illusion spell. He then transformed his armour into complete mode and took flight high up into the clouds.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were blazing around one of the floating isles. The cyan pegasus tilted right a little and moved in front of the opponent behind her. Spitfire responded by pulling up slightly and increasing her speed, flying right over Rainbow and regaining the lead. The mare then locked her wings and glided through a patch of clouds. Rainbow Dash didn't bother tucking her wings and instead took the opportunity to overtake Spitfire and widen the gap between each other. She had just passed the other Pegasus when out of nowhere blasted a gold and blue streak. "What the?" she cried in alarm as she was thrown off course by the wind cone behind the new challenger.

Concord howled with laughter as he saw the flustered Rainbow Dash lose her concentration and spiral out of control. He pulled a hard right turn and slid through a hole carved into the mountain of another floating island before angling downwards and screaming towards the aerodrome. He pulled up again and flew along the runway with only a few centimeters between him and the tarmac. As he rocketed through the airport, the wind behind him caused a lot of light objects to go into a frenzy and blow about, startling many of the other Pegasi onsite. Spitfire and Rainbow Dash blasted through a moment later, neck in neck with each other. They both passed the windsock at the end of the runway and slowed to a stop before turning around and landing safely in one of the hangars. Concord however, ducked behind the control tower, collapsed his armour and donned his illusion spell. He trotted into the hangar to rejoin with Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and the rest of the Wonderbolts.

The two mares were panting, almost out breath from the race, and the shock from the sudden enterance of the mysterious racer. "Quite a race *pant* huh Dasher?" Spitfire wheezed, all Rainbow could do was nod. Rainbow suddenly glared at Concord, she knew he was the stranger, and wasn't very happy about being spun out of control. "Yea, good race *pant*, I'll talk to you in your office later Spitfire, I need to speak with my friend over here" Rainbow said and with that Spitfire and the Wonderbolts left the hangar and made a beeline for the control tower. As soon as they were out of earshot, Rainbow turned to Concord with a smile on her smile on her face "you got some nerve, sending me into a tailspin like that" she said. "Come on, you gotta admit that I'm a good flyer" Concord said cheekily. Rainbow chuckled and gently knocked him on the head "that's for sending me off course" she said then raised her hoof for a high five "and this is for that great race". Concord happily complied and returned the high five, the two laughing like old chums. Concord then turned serious "I need to talk to the Commander, I have a proposal for her that could benefit both of us" he said. Rainbow nodded and they made haste for the control tower.

Both of the mares were out of breath, collapsed on the floor and panting heavily. "Looks like you two had quite the race?" Cloud Flash observed. "It could have gone better if that cadet hadn't interfered, I thought I grounded everypony for the day" Spitfire said. Cloud Flash discreetly breathed a sigh of relief, he hadn't been seen identified, but he knew he couldn't take anymore risks like that. "Yeah, I wonder who that cadet was" Rainbow Dash said a snuck a playful look at Cloud, she knew it was him. Spitfire regained her footing 'well, I'm going to head back to my office, do you two wanna join us or something?" she asked as she put her uniform and shades back on. Rainbow looked to Cloud Flash for his consent, "sure, couldn't hurt to see how you lot run things around here." Spitfire smiled and trotted towards the aerodrome control tower.

Once they were inside, a crackle of thunder resounded throughout Cloudsdale, and the heavens opened. Rain pelted the city and Pegasi everywhere had to land and find cover. Cloud, Rainbow and the Wonderbolts, however, were perfectly dry and warm inside Spitfire's office. Rainbow and Soarin, the only male member of the main Wonderbolt flight squadron, had struck up a pleasant conversation whilst Cloud and Spitfire had started a discussion of their own. "So Cloud Flash, couldn't help but notice that you are a unicorn that has the ability to walk on the clouds, you must be quite skilled with magic to do that" Spitfire observed and took another sip of her coffee. "Yea, my teacher was quite an adept magic user, you could say" Cloud said. "Who was your teacher, if you don't mind me asking?" Spitfire asked. "His name was Solar Purger, a rather old pony who lived in the Sibearian Mountains" Concord replied, grinning inwardly as the commander fell for his lie. Spitfire nodded and then gulped down the rest of her coffee before flicking through some tan coloured folders that had been sitting on her desk. "Are these Wonderbolts of yours a branch of the Equestrian military?" Concord asked, breaking the silence between the two. Spitfire looked up from her work "we used to be. Celestia cut our funding a few years before I joined the ranks. It was a hard time for the Wonderbolts during the first few months, but we were doing what we loved, making ponies happy and doing the impossible manoeuvres we are known for to this day" she explained. "We never asked for it, but we got donations from some of the Cloudsdale residents and some other ponies who lived on the ground below. Some of the old Wonderbolts trickled back into the fold and started to train new recruits, and before long, we had increased our rank size threefold. It was and still is my dream to one day bring the Wonderbolts back into military service, all we need is for somepony to offer us a contract". Concord was quite fascinated by the turnaround described in the mare's story. 'I'll need to talk to Celestia about this institute when I get home' he thought to himself as he looked around the office whilst Spitfire returned to her documents.

Spitfire seemed to be quite the decorated flyer, as hinted by the copious amount of trophies and medals that she had in a group of cabinets on the right wall. Concord then noticed the mahogany wardrobe that was against the same wall, its door slightly ajar. He got out of his seat and took a look inside the wardrobe. Inside was a grey, green and brown flight suit with a multi-layered circle as a symbol on its wing covers, Concord recognized the colour scheme from one of the few time periods he saw whilst in the time vortex. "World War 2 Equine combat flight suit?" he asked Spitfire and she trotted over to his side. "Yea, belonged to my great grandmother, Flame Pitfall, captain of the third Wonderbolt Air Combat squadron" she explained as she pulled the old suit out of the closet, dusting it off before draping it gently on her desk. She pulled open a drawer in her desk and produced a set of vintage aerial combat goggles which had a multitude of lines etched into the sides. "She had forty confirmed kills during her time in the air, plus another twenty in ground combat, equaling sixty kills in total" she explained as she ran the point of her left hoof across the brim of the goggles. "She retired from active service in 1950, and died peacefully in her sleep" she added sadly. Cloud Flash looked at the suit, taking note of the multiple stitches and patches of cloth that covered up the bullet holes that dotted the suit. "This suit is in remarkable condition considering how old it is" he commented and he carefully put it back in Spitfire's closet. The stallion looked out the window and noticed the rain had stopped, only a few rainclouds were still looming about and they looked to be empty. "I think it's about time I head back down to the surface before my cloudwalking spell wears off, it was a pleasure meeting you Captain" Cloud Flash said and he shook the mare's hoof before collecting Rainbow and heading out of the control tower.

Just as they closed the door behind them, there was a sudden crack of lightning that rocked the aerodrome, causing Rainbow Dash to suddenly freak out in fear and zip across the runway in a blur of colour. Unfortunately her sudden and uncoordinated take off sent her flying directly into a rubbish bin that had been carelessly left near the runway. Cloud Flash winced as the dull ring of the bin echoed throughout the Wonderbolt Aerodrome. He galloped over to Rainbow Dash and eased her out of the bin and carefully plucked some stray junk out of her mane and tail. "You okay Dash?" he asked as he checked her over for any injuries. "Nah, I'm good, thanks though" she said as she regained her footing and dusted herself down. Concord's ears were suddenly met with the sound of laughter and looked over his shoulder to see the Wonderbolts laughing like crazy at the misfortune of the pegasus. "Nice going Rainbow Crash!" yelled Soarin in a mocking voice. "My name is Rainbow Dash, Soarin!" Rainbow yelled with a hint of anger in her voice. Concord whipped around and glared at the stallion with his eyes narrowed and his nose furrowed. "So that's how you treat a fellow comrade?" Concord yelled angrily. "Come on dude, we all call her that around here!" Soarin said with a grin plastered on his face, he seemed to not know how angry this was making Concord. "You're all grown ponies and are all part of the most recognised flight team in the world! I can understand if you have nicknames for each other, but if somepony doesn't want to be called by an embarrassing nickname, then it might be better if you don't call them that at all!" he explained angrily. "Dude, you're not even a pegasus or a Wonderbolt, what makes you think you have the right to make decisions for us?" Fleetfoot asked with a brow raised and a smug smirk on her muzzle. "All right then, you think I don't have the right to stand up for my friends? Very well, I'll return here this evening and I'll take you all on in a race to settle this little argument" Concord challenged enthusiastically. Spitfire, who had been listening from the sidelines finally broke her silence "and how exactly do you hope to beat us in a race when you can't even fly?" Concord looked at her and thought for a moment, then a stroke of genius dawned upon him. "I'll magic myself up some wings of course" he said sternly. Spitfire gave Concord a puzzled look, she didn't believe he was actually serious about the race and was secretly hoping he'd stop embarrassing himself in front of everypony. But Concord was dead serious, seeing these mature ponies acting in such a childish manner and disrespecting their friend angered him; camaraderie was something he admired and hated to see it be abused. "I'll see you on the runway tonight, Wonderbolts" he spat before turning tail and leaving the aerodrome with Rainbow Dash following close behind.

Rainbow Dash's house. 5:47pm.

Concord and Rainbow Dash were comfortably sitting on the living room sofa when Concord decided to ask the mare a question. "I thought you said those childish Wonderbolts were, and I quote: the most awesome and cool flyers in all of Equestria?" Concord asked as he stretched his wings for the billionth time. "I mean, their stunts and all of that are pretty cool, it's just the way they treat me is what I really have issues with" Rainbow said whilst polishing her pair of flight goggles. "I told them that I didn't like being called Rainbow Crash; because that was the name that was used by two colts known as Hoops and Dumb-Bell to bully me during my time as a filly at the Cloudsdale Flight Camp. Everytime I hear it, it just brings back some really bad memories I don't wanna see again for a long time" she explained. "That goes to show that the Wonderbolts don't seem to care about your privacy" Concord added in a solemn tone.

Rainbow Dash shrugged "they started doing it when I was asked to join the Wonderbolts full-time during their tour season, because one of their other members had retired and instead taken up the job as a flight instructor. I was really excited about this, I always wanted to fly professionally with the Bolts! I thought I knew everything there was to know about flying, but I guess my skills got kinda rusty and on my first day, I almost caused an accident and in my rush to get out of the way, I crashed into a garbage can. Instead of - oh I don't know, actually helping me - the Wonderbolts instead decide that it would be better to laugh at my accident and start calling me Rainbow Crash. It got worse from that point on, Spitfire didn't call me by my name anymore, preferring to use Rainbow Crash instead. They then gave me a jacket with Rainbow Crash written on the pocket for all to see. Spitfire did tell me that all of the Wonderbolts went by nicknames like mine, but I still don't buy it. I think she was lying, to be honest. I wouldn't mind going back to being a Bolt, it's just the teasing that puts me off. Maybe, if they promise to not call me Rainbow Crash, I'll join them again. And who knows? Maybe I could teach them some stunts I've been working on lately".

Concord was appalled at what he had heard. "Like I said: I can understand if they have cute little nicknames for each other, but if you don't like being called Rainbow Crash and they know it, yet keep calling you that, well then why bother with them? They're no better than those bullies you had to deal with back at your Flight Camp" he said in a comforting voice and patted Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. "Thanks Concord" Rainbow said and then got off the seat to get something from the kitchen. On the way she looked at the clock above the door frame and gasped "you should be at the aerodrome!" she cried. Concord looked at the clock and confirmed this, he was way behind schedule! He galloped to the front door and removed his illusion spell, spread his wings and took off as fast as he could, intent on making up for his delay.

Wonderbolt Aerodrome Runway: 6:00pm.

Spitfire readjusted her goggles and looked at the aerodrome clock on the control tower; Cloud Flash should have arrived by now. The Wonderbolts all stood in takeoff formation, two parallel lines of six Pegasi, equipped with their signature blue and orange flight suits and goggles. Soarin scanned the sky again and turned to his captain and commented "maybe he isn't coming after all." He was proven wrong when a two streaks of colour burst through the clouds above the runway. Cloud Flash went into a nosedive and pulled up at the last second before safely landing in front of his competition. The Wonderbolts looked at the stallion's new feathery wings in amazement, the only other time they had seen magical wings like these was when Twilight Sparkle and her friends came to Cloudsdale and gave Rarity a set of butterfly wings; so she could take part in an Flight Tournament, in which she spectacularly failed. "So, looks like you did get your wings after all" Fleetfoot said snarkily. "Cut the small talk princess" Cloud replied with an equal amount of disregard in his voice; Fleetfoot said nothing and returned to formation. "Alright you lot! The race will proceed as follows!" Rainbow Dash said as she landed on the tarmac with a clipboard strapped to her side. She pulled it out of its sling and then read aloud from her outline:

You will all run off the end of the runway and start your flight there.

Bear right and make your way towards the mountains near Canterlot, you will need to pass through Bygone canyon in order for your input to count.

After that, you must complete three clockwise laps around Ponyville, they will only be counted when you pass the clock tower.

Finally, return to base and fly through the Wonderbolt training course before landing on the tarmac, signalling the end of your run. The winner is the pony who gets back first.

Spitfire was the next to speak "WONDERBOLTS! GOGGLES ON!" she barked and her team slid their goggles down over their eyes and got into a takeoff stance. Cloud Flash didn't have any goggles and looked to Rainbow Dash, who threw him the pair she had been polishing from earlier. Cloud gave her a thankful nod and put on the goggles before assuming his own stance. "On your marks!" called Rainbow and Cloud Flash flapped his wings. "Get set!" she yelled and Spitifre cracked her neck a little. "GO!" Rainbow cried and the ponies broke out into a full gallop, making their way to the end of the runway at a staggering speed. Concord pulled ahead slightly, drawing in at neck in neck with Spitfire. The dropoff loomed ahead and Concord spread his wings, as did the other racers. They galloped off of the edge and fell into a freefall before pulling up and beginning their flight towards Bygone Canyon.

Cloud Flash had been through this canyon many times before and knew it well. But he knew the old canyon, not the new one, and so he would occasionally take a wrong turn and have to catch up with the Wonderbolts again after regaining his bearings . 'The sooner I get out of this blasted canyon the better' he thought to himself as he screamed past one of the Wonderbolt flyers. He pulled a hard left and ducked between a small split in the rocks before flying downwards to avoid crashing with an overhanging stone obelisk perched on the sides of the canyon. He looked ahead and saw Soarin disappear around the next bend, and so he poured more energy into his wings to close the gap between him and the cocky pegasus. Soarin looked behind him and saw Cloud Flash closing in on him and jeered "try to keep up rookie!" Cloud Flash grumbled and kept flapping furiously, he wanted to win this race, and he wasn't about to lose to a loudmouth, immature stallion. Cloud Flash gave his wings an extra hard flap and he closed the gap. He looked at the pegasus and jeered "I would say eat my dust, but I'll be so far ahead you won't be able to tell!" Soarin's jaw dropped as Cloud Flash then rocketed ahead, causing a sonic boom that erratically shook the canyon walls and make a few stray rocks come loose. Soarin ducked slightly to avoid a falling stone before putting on a stern look, he wasn't going to lose to an inexperienced Unicorn/Pegasi wannabe. And with that, he increased his speed evermore and tried to catch up with the other flyer.

Cloud Flash had now cleared the canyon and could see three other Wonderbolt flyers ahead of him, Fleetfoot, Aura Burst and Spitfire. 'Time for some creative flying' he though and he pulled up to gain some altitude above the mares. When he reached a decent height, Cloud Flash angled himself downwards and tucked his wings, letting his air cone slice through the wind and give him the speed boost he needed. He gained much more velocity this time and quite literally streaked past Fleetfoot, as all anypony could see of him was a prussian blue streak of colour. He rocketed past Aura Burst and pulled up alongside Spitfire, giving the mare a cocky look as he kept up with her. "This your top speed?" Cloud hollered over the sound of the rushing wind. "Yea! This is the fastest I can go!" Spitfire said as they banked a hard left and began the circuit around Ponyville. The two were neck in neck, neither of them able to go any faster, and were both determined to win. Cloud Flash rolled to right and tightened the corner he was taking, he pulled ahead of Spitfire and gained the lead. "Try to keep up Spits!" he joked as he turned around and started to fly in reverse with a smug grin on his muzzle. 'How can he do that? He's just a regular old Unicorn, not an elite flyer!' Spitfire thought to herself as she observed the odd flight of the stallion on front of her. Cloud Flash spun back around and completed the first lap with Spitfire finishing hers seconds later.

Surprisingly, the race had garnered some attention from the ponies below, most of them stopping what they were doing to watch the race. They watched in wonder as the flyers streaked around Ponyville, slicing through the air and clouds like a hot knife through butter. Pinkie Pie followed the lead racer, knowing full well that it was Concord, and cheered the stallion on.

High above the town, Cloud Flash heard the cheering from Pinkie, who was now yelling through a preposterously large megaphone she had produced seemingly out of nowhere. He looked at the town below and saw the mare, even giving her a friendly wave before returning his attention to his race. Unfortunately, this lapse in concentration allowed Spitfire and Fleetfoot to pass him gave Soarin a chance to catch up. Cloud Flash wasn't fazed by the setback, he could see that the others had expended their energy from trying to push ahead and would probably falter on the upward climb back to the runway. Cloud Flash completed his last lap and pulled upward, making his way towards the airfield. He smiled as his predictions came true and Fleetfoot slowed down. Spitfire was the next to go, the sweat seeping through her suit. Soarin seemed to be struggling, but was still keeping his speed constant. Cloud Flash simultaneously passed Fleetfoot and Spitfire and pulled alongside Soarin, concerned by the sight of the sweat pouring from his brow. "Soarin! I think you may want to slow down! You're overworking yourself! Keep this up and you'll fall unconscious!" he warned. "What, me?! I'm as fit as a-" and then Soarin went out like a lightbulb and he started his long fall towards the ground below. Cloud Flash cried in alarm and performed a 180-degree turn, aiming for the falling Wonderbolt. Cloud Flash tucked his wings and nose dived down towards Soarin. When his target was within his telekinetic range, Cloud lit up his horn and enveloped Soarin in his aura. He slowed the Pegasus to a stop and flew up to him. He cancelled out his spell and grabbed Soarin in his forelegs. Cloud Flash grunted as he felt the weight of Soarin come down on his limbs, the pegasus was a bit heavier than the eye let on. Cloud Flash checked the skies around him before activating his armour to pre-complete mode to use the jet thrusters on his hind legs. The jets fired and gave Cloud the power he needed to reach the aerodrome.

The Wonderbolts were worried, none of them had been able to get to Soarin when he fell, they were all too tired. Their worries soon changed to joy as the silhouette of Cloud Flash appeared in front of the setting sun, with a rather confused and exhausted Soarin holding onto him for dear life. Cloud Flash landed on the runway, the flames from his thrusters scorching the ground beneath his hooves, and put Soarin down on his own legs once again. Spitfire galloped up to her comrade and embraced him with tears in her eyes. "Never! Ever! Do that again!" she sobbed, the mare was not one to break down like this, but when the life of her own friend was put at risk by themselves, it made her very emotional indeed. Rainbow Dash trotted up to the weeping mare and patted her on the back, she may not have liked the commander's attitude at times, but she hated seeing other ponies break down. Soarin looked at Cloud Flash, who was still wearing his armour, and thought to himself for a moment before saying. "Cloud Flash, I want to say thanks for saving my behind back there, you deserve the win more than anypony else here" he said earnestly. Cloud Flash smiled and collapsed his armour into disc form, "just remember not to overwork yourself next time you do a race like that Soarin, you're lucky I wasn't ahead of you when you went out, otherwise you might not have been here to say that" he then said in a serious tone. Soarin looked away, blushing in embarrassment. "I guess I got a bit too competitive" he thought aloud. Cloud Flash turned away from Soarin and looked at the other Wonderbolts, who were staring at him with quizzical looks on their faces. "What were you just wearing?" one of the flyers asked, pointing at the armour disc. Cloud Flash knew he had blown his cover with the Wonderbolts, but he trusted them enough, and so he explained. "That... was a Mark 7 Alicorn-type Collapsible Armour System, designed and built by yours truly". The Wonderbolts were even more confused now, even Spitfire and Soarin were now looking at the stallion in wonder, they couldn't understand what they had heard. "Why would it be an Alicorn type of armour if you're just a unicorn?" Fleetfoot asked. Concord spread his wings and gave them a flap "because these aren't magic-made wings, they're the real deal" he explained. The Wonderbolts, now realizing what he meant, bowed in honour to the Alicorn; Spitfire even going so far as to salute him. Rainbow Dash, who had been quiet for most of the conversation spoke up "don't ask him about it; trust me guys, it's a long story". Cloud Flash took off his goggles and passed them back to Rainbow before taking on a much more serious face.

"Originally I came to this place to discuss some business with Commander Spitfire, and I still intend to have that conversation, here and now" he said. Spitfire wiped her eyes and left Soarin's side to talk to Cloud Flash "what did you want to talk about Sir?" she asked. Cloud Flash reactivated his armour to pre-complete mode before explaining his reasons. "Spitfire, I came here to ask for the Wonderbolts' aid in training new air force cadets for my military. For you see, a dark force has returned and now is seeking to reignite a conflict that has gone on for over 12'000 years. My real name is Concord Blast, king of the Light Kingdom, or as it is more formally known, the Lightnian Empire. Your Wonderbolts could be the perfect instructors for my Pegasi flight teams, and I would be more than grateful if you came to work for my military for the coming months".

Spitfire was flabbergasted and her jaw dropped in surprise. "O-of course sir! We'd be more than happy to work with you!" she yelled in joy, her vision of bringing the Wonderbolts back into active service surfacing once again. Concord extended a hoof to the mare and she shook it happily. The alicorn saluted Spitfire and the Wonderbolts "then allow me to be the first to say: welcome back to service" he commended. The Wonderbolts burst out into cheers and stamped their hooves madly on the tarmac. Concord turned to Soarin and shook his hoof "thanks for a great race kiddo, maybe we can have a rematch sometime?" he asked. Soarin grinned "you bet sir, and thanks again for saving me". Soarin then looked at Rainbow Dash and put a foreleg over her shoulder "sorry for teasing you Dash, I promise that it won't happen again. And you know what? You can call me by my nickname if you want" he apologized. Rainbow Dash ruffled his mane "that's good to hear Clipper, try not to eat too much pie while you're training those cadets okay?" she joked and the two chuckled together. Nopony had noticed this, but Concord had discretely left the aerodrome and was heading back to Ponyville.

Concord's house. 6:00pm.

Concord shut off the water and exited the shower, grabbing a towel and drying himself as he trotted into the living room. He looked out of the living room window and managed to catch a short glimpse of the sun before it dipped below the horizon. Concord was about to sit down when the telephone rang from the kitchen, its shrill ringing irritating the stallion. He went to the kitchen and picked up the phone, it was Rarity. "Miss Rarity, and to what do I owe the pleasure?" Concord greeted. The line crackled for a moment and Concord heard the ruffling of cloth "oh yes hello Cloud Flash, I was just wondering. You see, there's a concert that will take place in Manehattan tomorrow night and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me there, I think it would be a good chance for you to see what kind of culture the modern world has" Rarity proposed. "Well, I don't have anything planned for the rest of the week, so I guess I can make it. What time should I come to collect you?" Concord asked as he glossed over his schedule in his head. "Just meet me at the train station at nine o'clock in the morning, the trip won't be too long and we should arrive by five in the evening. The show will start at eight, by then we'll be at the hall where it's being hosted. After the show, I have us booked in to stay at a very nice hotel for the night. Then finally, I'll take you around the city and show you the sights and smells of Manehattan!" Rarity squealed excitedly. Concord agreed and was about to hang up when Rarity asked "can you actually come to the Boutique right now? I'm making something for you to wear and I need your dimensions before I start sewing". Concord agreed and hung up. He turned off the house lights and made his way through the lamp-lit streets of Ponyville towards Carousel Boutique.

The Boutique's silhouette looked almost ominous in the moonlight to Concord, and he chuckled at how it almost looked like an evil lair of a maniacal overlord. He knocked on the door and stepped back a little. Rarity opened the door and quickly ushered him in and told him to stand on a podium on the right of the main room. Concord then let the mare measure his body length and height, making sure not to move and botch the measurements. When she was done, Rarity offered Concord a seat and she disappeared into an adjacent room. A few seconds later Concord heard the sound of magic sparkling and a mare humming to herself, Rarity was already hard at work. Concord picked up a book from a nearby and flicked through the pages in his pursuit for something to keep him interested. He looked up from his reading when he heard the sound of small hooves on the wooden staircase. Sweetie Belle was still in her pyjamas and her mane was a mess. "Shouldn't you be in bed Sweetie Belle?" Concord said as he took note of the filly's half closed eyes. "Yea, but I couldn't get to sleep" she said drearily. Concord offered a seat to Sweetie Belle and she hopped up next to him. "Rarity told me about your two trips to the hospital. Did it hurt?" she asked. "No, I'm quite used to being injured, the life of a king is risky one at best" Concord explained whilst recounting some of his more serious injuries from his past. After a few more minutes of idle chatter with Sweetie Belle, Rarity trotted out of her sewing room carrying a fancy black and white tuxedo in her magic aura. The body of the tuxedo was white and the accenting was black as well as the bowtie. "How's this for suit?!" Rarity asked excitedly as Concord admired the clothing. "C'est manifque!" he exclaimed in French. "I took some of the design from your empire's style of clothing" she explained whilst carefully folding the tux and sliding it into a large plastic zip-lock bag. She packed it into an open white suitcase laying on the floor near the stairwell and closed the lid. Rarity then noticed her little sister and scolded "you should be in bed Sweetie Belle. You have school tomorrow!" She sent the filly back upstairs to bed before politely ushering Concord out of the building. "I'll see you at the train station tomorrow Miss Belle!" Concord called as the lights began to turn off from inside the house. The stallion then headed home for the night and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

What Concord didn't realize, once again, was that he was being watched. There was a tree across the road from his house, and if one were to climb to one of its higher branches, you would be able to look through one of the bedroom windows. And unfortunately, Concord had left the curtains open, allowing a pony to monitor him from her perch. The mare was silent, her breaths slow and quiet as she waited for something to happen; but nothing did. She grunted to herself and jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully on all four hooves. A night breeze washed through the street and it flapped her dark red hooded coat about like a leaf in the wind. "Subject is asleep, no signs of activity to report. Although he has planned to head for Manehattan tomorrow morning to attend the concert there" she whispered. Her headset crackled "excellent, this is the chance we've been waiting for. I'll contact my associates and have them ready for the ambush. As for you Dropper, get to the train station and catch the next train to Manehattan, I'll meet you at our hotel". Dropper then flicked off her radio and tucked it into one of her coat pockets. The mare casually trotted towards the station, her dark jacket making her blend in with the dimly lit streets. As she stepped onto the platform, a train steamed into the station and caused some of the loose rubbish littering the station to be whisked about in the wind. Suddenly a stray piece of newspaper wrapped around her face. The mare jumped a little, and after calming down, brushed the paper off; and in the process knocked her glasses off of her muzzle. The oval shaped, pink-tinted glasses glistened in the lights of the station briefly. The mare fired up her horn and grabbed the glasses in her magenta aura. She placed her spectacles back on her face and boarded the train, sitting down on one of the many vacant seats in the carriage and letting out a long breath. She looked around the coach before taking off her hood, revealing a pale white head and a spiky blue mane. The pony pulled a headset out of her coat and put them on, letting the music carry her to sleep as the train departed the station and made its way towards Manehattan.

**And so the plot thickens! Sorry for the long wait guys, as I said, school really clogged up my writing schedule. Regardless, I have knuckled down and I am almost done with Chapter 15. Chapter 14 is going to be VERY short indeed, in fact I wouldn't even consider it a chapter, but rather an explanation of the TLKC Lore. So look forward to that, and the subsequent chapter 15! So I guess I'll see you fine Crabs... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	15. Chapter 14

**Well this looks short doesn't it? See ya at the bottom!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 14: A Warning.

The rise of an army.

The fall of a King.

Soon I shall see that his death bells ring.

My forces ready with eyes full of zeal.

All that remains is for her to break the seal.

My followers serve me, just as I command.

To make sure he doesn't interfere with my plan.

Time can not stop me, it can only slow.

This world is mine, and mine alone…

And I will stop at nothing to secure this throne.

**Now you're probably wondering why this chapter is so short, well that will be explained... now. I didn't have a good idea for a filler chapter between 13 and 15, so I pulled a lazy job and did this. I promise I'll make up for it in Chapter 15, which is gonna be a real kicker indeed! Besides that, there's some other things that I need to inform you about. **

**So, guys, I have done some thinking and I have made a decision. First of all, I will be changing the lore a little so then some more interesting content can be produced, such as the presence of modern technology like cellphones and cars. Second, I have lowered the special chapter thing from every 10 chapters to every 5 chapters, this allows me to not waste as much time with filler and instead focus on progressing the story (although I may ditch the formula entirely soon). Third, I have decided to start planning for a series of spinoff stories revolving around characters that will be introduced later in the plot or characters that already have been introduced. The characters in the spinoffs will usually play a background part in certain events like battles or important decisions made by major characters. But please note these may not happen until after the completion of this fanfiction, I'm already working on enough stories as it is.**

**So the TLKC Alternate Universe lore basically follows this:**

**CMC do not have their Cutie Marks yet.**

**The fight between Twilight and Tirek occurred, but no castle was created. This means that there has been no Starlight Glimmer event nor any events revolving around the Cutie Map.**

**Cadence and Shining Armour have already had their baby, and she has grown to a decent age, around nine or ten years old.**

**Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have not done their reformation at all, so they will continue to be bullies.**

**The whole Wonderbolts Academy fiasco has obviously happened, but instead Rainbow Dash will continue to be negative when it comes to the Wonderbolts.**

**Modern technology is present, pretty much the sort of things we use today, like smartphones and electricity.**

**The Canterlot Army is comprised of the guards we see in the show, and the actual military, the ones with guns and tanks, the same goes for the Crystal Empire.**

**Anyway, with that Author's Note out of the way, I think it's about time I wrap this up and sign off so I can finish Chapter 15. So I guess I'll see you fine Crabs...**

**IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	16. Chapter 15

**My boys, I am back after many long months of silence. Why was I so quiet? Find out in the next chapter. Anyway, I'll see you at the bottom of the page!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 15: Concerto di Morte.

Ponyville Train Station. Thursday. 8:55am.

Rarity and Cloud Flash were certainly an odd looking couple, Rarity wearing a black hat with a large red feather on the band, and Cloud wearing his goggles, scarf and an overcoat he had bought from Rarity a few minutes earlier. "I never actually bothered mentioning it, but sweet Celestia is your rail transport choice horrible!" Concord remarked as he examined the frilly looking tank engine as it idled in the station. "The Friendship Express is a fine train Cloud" Rarity rebutted, winking at the driver in the cab. Concord gagged at the mention of the name "back in my day we had iron monsters clattering along the rails, not foal's playthings! And they all had much more respectable names as well, names like Thunderhorn and Alpine Veil!" Rarity rolled her eyes and they entered the coach. The two sat down in the very last coach and waited for the train to leave. The intercom in the coach crackled "attention all passengers, we are now departing on a one way trip to Manehattan, please ensure your valuables are secured and that you have your tickets presented for the conductor". Taking his cue, a conductor pony trotted through the carriage and punched a small hole in everypony's ticket. Soon after that, the carriage was bumped slightly and the train steamed away.

The express cruised along the mainline through the grasslands outside of Ponyville. Cloud Flash and Rarity were both making idle conversation with one another about the trip ahead and the event. "So, who's performing at this concert?" Cloud asked whilst Rarity inspected herself in a hoof-held mirror. "Oh yes I completely forgot! The duo performing tonight are Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody, two musicians who actually live a little way down the road from your house" she explained and patted her face with a powder puff. "Interesting, just from the names alone suggests to me that these two are polar opposites, no?" Cloud Flash observed. "Oh yes, quite. Vinyl is known for her, as it is referred to in modern culture, dubstep. Whereas Octavia is famous for her excellent skills with the cello" Rarity said. "I see" Cloud mused before turning to look out of the window and watch the world rush by. He looked up and saw a plane fly overhead and an airship slowly sailing through the air below it. The stark contrast between the vehicles was slightly odd for Concord, from what was seeing, it was apparent that some parts of Equestria were more modern than others. He thought about Ponyville, remembering that there was a definite presence of modern technology there such as phones and electricity, but also more primitive things like fireplaces and coal burning locomotives. The world seemed to be going through a gradual modernisation, a process that would probably take a few generations to complete. Cloud was ripped from his thoughts when the train stormed into a tunnel and the carriage was plunged into darkness. The stallion became drowsy in the dark and all too quickly nodded off into a deep sleep.

Manehattan Train Station: 4:47pm.

Concord looked around the station, marvelling at the architecture. The roof of the station was a giant glass cover that let the sunlight shine down onto the platforms. The platforms were comprised of mosaic artwork and shiny white tiles and the walls were plastered in white. Concord remembered the time when Manehattan was just a small town near the coast of Equestria instead of a bustling metropolis. Rarity, who was waiting for her numerous bags to be unloaded from the carriage, cast her gaze about the station and scoured the crowds. "Looking for somepony Rarity?" Concord asked as he checked through his bag to make sure nothing was missing. "Actually yes, I called a friend earlier this morning to see if she could pick us up from the station and take us to her home to get ready, but I don't think she's here yet" Rarity explained and she scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Well, let me know when you see her and I'll help carry these bags for you" Concord offered and he closed his suitcase. A few seconds later, Rarity's eyes darted onto a cream coloured mare in a purple shirt collar and a red tie around her neck. "Found her" Rarity said and Concord grabbed their bags in his magical grasp. The cream coloured mare saw Rarity and waved happily, still holding a small card with the unicorn's name printed on it. "Coco! Oh darling it's wonderful to see you again!" Rarity cheered and the two mares embraced each other for a moment. Coco Pommel was an earth pony, with a light green mane and blue eyes, and carried a slightly timid air about her. "Likewise miss. My car is waiting in the parking lot outside, I'll help you carry your stuff outside and get it into the boot" Coco said and she loaded three small bags onto her back and picked up a much smaller one in her mouth. Concord carried the rest of the bags in his aura and Rarity trotted along beside him with a small bag strapped to her left side. The trio walked out into the carpark after checking out at the station office and Coco led them to a white 1950s Sedan, obviously belonging to her. She popped the boot (or trunk) open and crammed the bags into the small space, the rest had to be stored in the back seat area of the car. Concord hopped into the back and let the mares have the front. Once they were all in, Coco took off her tie and collar before checking her mane in the rear view mirror. "So how has business been lately at the boutique?" Rarity asked as Coco started the car, "oh it's been well, we've just started stocking the winter line and are wrapping up with the Autumn sale. I also decided to add some of my own designs to the selection, hopefully it's not too much of a bother for you" the mare explained and she gently pressed the accelerator and the car trundled out of the parking lot onto the main road.

The road they were taking allowed Concord and Rarity to get a look at the Manehattan foreshore. Concord stared out the car's right window and gazed out to sea, taking in as many things he could. Ponies were splashing about in the water, some lay on the sand with a book or phone in their hooves to keep themselves occupied, and others were strolling along the foreshore with their loved ones. He then averted his gaze to the left window and stared up at the skyscrapers towering over Manehattan, the sunlight reflecting off of their pristine clean glass windows. "It seems that your friend in the back is quite excited about visiting the city" commented Coco, flicking on her indicator and turning, casting a short glance at Concord through the rear-vision mirror. Rarity looked briefly at Concord and chuckled, "yes, Cloud Flash hasn't been to Manehattan yet and he's quite excited to see it" she explained. "Well I'm sure we'll be able to sort out some form of sightseeing before you go home" Coco said and took another right turn onto a terminating street where she parked her car next to a towering hotel. The ponies hopped out of the car and a baggage handler came and took Concord and Rarity's bags up to Coco's room. Once inside, Concord took off his coat and hung it on a coatrack sitting in the far corner of the room and Rarity unpacked a few of her things and laid them on the bed in a guest bedroom. Coco went into the kitchen and served up a small meal for them to eat whilst Concord went to stand out on the balcony. Rarity and Coco both came out and sat down on the deck chairs to view the evening skyline. "So, what do you do for a job mister Flash?" Coco asked and the stallion went silent to consider his next few words. "I'm a private contractor for the Equestrian military, the princesses and I are good friends" he explained and Coco passed him his meal "well that does sound rather interesting. I heard Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be attending the concert you and Rarity are going to tonight" she said and Cloud tensed slightly. "Something the matter Cloud?" Rarity asked worriedly but Cloud Flash simply shook his head. He looked at a clock on the wall and decided to get ready, excused himself, and then went to get dressed for the night ahead.

The limousine glided to a stop before the red carpet and a well-dressed chauffeur hopped out to open the door for his passengers, Cloud Flash and Rarity. The second the two got out of the car they found themselves bombarded with camera flashes and ponies asking them a multitude of questions. "Rarity? What's going on with these guys?" Cloud asked and Rarity sighed "just the detriments that come with running a successful clothing store chain, paparazzi" she explained and Cloud snickered whilst they were escorted into the theater by a host of security guards. Once inside Rarity took off her coat and handed it to a bell boy who took it away to be warmed up for when she left, doing the same for Concord as well, who had been wearing his battle coat into the venue. They were then taken aside by another bellboy who lead them into an elevator that took them up to the higher rows of seats and private viewing platforms. The were shown to their seats in one of the private rooms, giving them a luxurious view over the whole concert hall, and were also given a platter of drinks to have whilst they watched. Concord eyed a glass of whiskey and took a sip, although he was a bit disappointed by the taste, it wasn't as good as the stuff Remington drank. Regardless, he downed the drink and sunk into his seat to watch the show, Rarity doing the same as she sipped from her glass of wine.

The red curtains were pulled apart to reveal the stage, which looked to be designed around a stack of vinyl discs with an assortment of speakers and keyboards sitting atop the pile. The discs were layed out to create a flight of stairs, upon which stood two ponies, one of them cradling a cello between her two front legs as she stood on her hind ones. The second didn't seem to be carrying any instruments, other than a set of red headphones that hung loosely around her neck. "Mares and Gentlestallions, it is our pleasure to bring to you tonight, Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch" a voice said over the speakers and the crowd stamped their hooves and cheered at the musicians as they went to their respective spots to prepare for their performance. Concord watched with interest as Vinyl Scratch poked her head underneath the keyboards for a moment before standing back again and putting on her headphones and spinning one of the discs on her turntable. "That instrument looks interesting, maybe I should buy one to take back to the empire; to be mass produced" Concord remarked and Rarity smirked. The lights around the two dimmed and Octavia began to play, creating a smooth, deep humming sound with her cello. Vinyl followed this up with a rising tone from her keyboard and a quiet spin of her records. The stage was then flooded with smoke and suddenly Octavia began to play her cello much louder, producing a wondrous flowing noise with Vinyl playing on with her equipment. Whilst the performance went on Concord watched with amazement, the combination of the two opposite types of music was truly stunning! "I see that you are enjoying yourself?" Rarity asked and he nodded silently as he continued to watch with fascination "well don't let me be the one to distract you" she added and then turned back to the show.

Meanwhile, outside the venue, it had begun to pour with rain. On the street curb next to the entrance sat a black 1950's Sedan, with two more parked behind it. Inside sat four ponies in black fedoras and trenchcoats complimented by white tie, each of them carried a black carbon fiber case about a half-meter long. They were from the mafia. "This is the place Octave wanted us to be at, crack open your cases and get ready" said the pony sitting in the driver's' seat. The ponies fiddled with the combination locks on the side of their cases and popped them open to reveal a gleaming Thompson submachine gun sporting mahogany grips and silver paint. The ponies loaded their guns and flicked off their safeties before opening the doors to the car and sloshing up to the main door. A bellboy came out but was forcefully punched in the head by the leading stallion, whose gun had an ivory stock and golden engraved paintwork. Some onlookers screamed in alarm and tried to escape, only to be pinned to the ground by two of the mafia ponies and were looted for their valuables. Whilst three of the ten ponies kept the lobby under control, the others made haste for the backrooms of the theater to execute part two of their plan. They reached the power box and one of the ponies from the group stepped forward with a pair of wire cutters held in his aura. "Alright, once we get the signal and Vito kills the lights, we snuff out Concord" the leader said and they rushed away to prepare their ambush.

Concord clapped his hooves together and whistled as Vinyl and Octavia finished their first act. "That was incredible!" he yelled and clapped even harder to show his enthusiasm, Rarity also applauding the musicians. Vinyl took centerstage with a microphone held in her magic and announced "thanks for enthusiasm guys, hopefully we'll see more cause there's more where that came from!" In the control room however, the ponies there were less than excited. "There was no second act scheduled for tonight! What the hay is going on?!" asked one of them. Whilst the room was in chaos Vinyl continued to speak onstage, "and on that note, here's our next song, Lights Out!" As soon as the words left her mouth the whole pavilion was sent into darkness as Vito cut the power supply. 'Isn't that ironic?' Concord mentally droned and rolled his eyes in the darkness. Thankfully the backup generator from the power station kicked in shortly after and bathed the room in a dim orange light. Those in the audience, startled by the sudden turn of events, started screaming and clamouring about as they tried to get out as fast as they could. Using the dim lighting to his advantage, Concord discarded his disguise and activated his armour along with his cannons. He turned to Rarity "something's not right here, stay close and take this" he said and pulled a revolver out of a compartment in his leg armour which he passed to a stunned Rarity. "W-what?! Concord this is where I draw the line, I refuse to use this!" she protested "but you had no problem using a 12 gauge shotgun a few days ago" the stallion rebutted flatly, and Rarity reluctantly took the hand cannon. Almost immediately after she took the gun the door to their viewing room burst open and several gleaming Thompson Machine Gun barrels poked through the doorway. Concord acted quickly and raised a barrier to protect himself and Rarity just as the mafia ponies fired their weapons. The stallion sent his armour into stage three and whipped out his cannons to return fire. When the attackers withdrew to reload their weapons he took the chance and bounded through the doorway with his sword summoned and ready to go. "Get him!" one of the ponies yelled and lunged at Concord with a switchblade clenched in his mouth, who was instantaneously pinned against the wall by a heavily-armoured hoof. The other mafia members, having reloaded their guns by now, unleashed a torrent of bullets at the stallion, who calmly let the bullets bounce off of the metal plating before stunning them with a burst of taser rounds. He quickly tied the criminals up in groups of three before calling for Rarity and making his way towards the ground floor.

The whole theater had gone quiet, not a single sound to be heard other than the rain outside and the muffled clunking of Concord's armour. The stage was dark and the musicians were all but gone, to where Concord did not know. Suddenly the stage lights came back on, revealing that Vinyl and Octavia were still onstage, but this time were dressed in matching red trench coats and felt fedoras. Concord looked to Rarity and sternly said "run", an order she quickly carried out and bolted out of the hall. "Welcome to the show Concord, we do so hope you enjoy our feature performance" Octavia cooed wickedly and patted the case sitting next to her "yeah, I think you'll find it to be a show to die for!" Vinyl added, only to get an angered look from Octavia. Concord was not impressed "you really had to make that pun didn't you?" he deadpanned and Octavia rolled her eyes. Suddenly Vinyl ran to her equipment and pulled out two small revolvers that she had hidden in a secret compartment beneath the turntable desk, opened fire on Concord, and began the battle.

Concord expected the bullets to bounce off but was shocked to find they were damaging his armour for once, these weren't normal rounds, as hinted by the purple smoke trails left behind by the shots. Concord launched up onto the stage and parried a lunging kick from Octavia with his foreleg, also countering a shot from Vinyl with a magical shield. He swiped Octavia's legs out from underneath her and slammed her in the chest, a blow that sent her flying into Vinyl's equipment, but was too late in reacting to a flurry of kicks sent into his back by Vinyl. He skidded across the smooth oak stage and crashed into a set of drums. He whipped out his cannons and blasted a hail of laser bolts at the two, who pulled out some form of collapsible shield from somewhere within their coats and blocked the attack. Concord dove for some cover to reload his guns and the mares lowered their shields. Octavia whistled loudly, obviously signalling someone. Concord yelped in alarm as a swath of mafia ponies rappelled down from the rafters and encircled him, they had their guns aimed directly at him. Concord knew what was coming next and he swung his sword in a clean circle, turning the goons into nothing more than a light shower of gore. The stallion didn't care anymore about going easy on them, this was now a matter of life or death. "So! It appears you've chosen to play the hard way! Well then, game on!" Concord roared and magically ignited his sword with a white hot flame. He let forth with a mighty battle cry and brought it down on the stage, shattering it and causing it to cave in. Octavia fired a grappling hook from a hoof-mounted launcher and swung away whilst Vinyl used her magic to allow a quick escape, they knew full well they wouldn't win in such an enclosed space, and so they adjusted their attack accordingly. Concord noticed their exit and gave chase into the alleyway they escaped through.

Octavia dashed out onto the street and Vinyl stopped the traffic with a levitation spell. They didn't have long to prepare when Concord burst out of the alley with his guns blazing and his magic flaring in raw power. "Get back here!" he cried and slammed into Octavia at full force, the mare shrieking she slammed into the side of a car that had stopped on the road. Vinyl was next to attack and she leapt onto Concord's back with a set of spiked hoof-dusters clipped onto her hooves, repeatedly bashing Concord to and fro. "Enough!" he cried and he grabbed Vinyl by the foreleg and threw her towards Octavia. The two mares grunted as Vinyl made contact and winded Octavia. Concord ran a hoof along his helmet, noticing the blood that was left behind on it, Vinyl's hoof-dusters were probably infused with a special form of dark magic, as evidenced by the fact of how fast the blood dried up. "I was merciful with Lyra because she had no choice over her actions, but I'm not so sure you two are the same" he said as he loomed over the two. "They did have a choice Concord, but not any more" a voice suddenly said and Concord leapt in surprise when he saw Darknia calmly sitting in the passenger seat of the car, drinking from a can of fizzy drink, which she smugly poured out onto Vinyl and Octavia. Concord knew what was going to happen next when he saw the drink wasn't a liquid, but rather a dark purple mist, Darknia was taking control of them just like she did to Lyra. "Stop, now" he ordered bluntly and Darknia chuckled to herself and replied evilly "no". The can stopped flowing the vapour and the two mares rose up again, this time with equally grey fur and black manes, and their bloodshot eyes leaked the purple mist. Darknia faded away and the mares stared at Concord, standing still to the point where the stallion thought they were dead. He backed up when they began to trot towards him, a new set of weapons present on their backs. Vinyl was now carrying a large cannon with a muzzle that resembled a speaker and Octavia had equipped a cello case, but Concord knew it probably wasn't normal like the rest of their equipment.

"Looks like it's an encore then" he mocked, only to be met with a punch to the jaw from Octavia, who had moved faster than he had ever seen a pony go. He staggered back due to the force of the blow and coughed up blood, the attack actually hurt? Octavia wasted no time in pulling her case off of her back and flicking the hidden switch on the exterior, a new handle sprouting from the back to go with the original in the midsection. Concord heard a whirring sound and realized what Octavia was truly carrying, a concealed minigun. He raised a barrier around himself but found it useless after the mare opened fire and shredded it within seconds. He ducked behind a car and quickly considered his options. 'I can't take both of them alone, but do I want to risk calling in backup?' he thought but then steeled himself 'ah screw it!' He tapped a hoof to his ear and barked into the comns "this is Concord Blast requesting immediate fire support at this transmission's location! Send in Ground Squad A!" "Copy that sir, deploying them now" said the operator "eta five minutes". Concord then took the defensive and overclocked his shield generator so he could at least stand a chance against the unrelenting minigun fire. He leapt out over his cover and galloped back into the fray.

Meanwhile aboard the troop transport ship Concord had ordered, the fire team prepared for the engagement. Guns were loaded and had their safeties turned off, cybernetic limb adjustments were made, tactical equipment was calibrated and nerves were steeled. Remington slipped his visor down over his eyes and tightened the straps on his parachute, also checking his pump-action shotgun to see if everything was in order. Benelli was sat next to him, equipped with her sniper loadout, using a self-stabilizing sniper-rifle, inertia compensating gun-holder, and a tactical optic eyeglass. Remington barked to the troops "listen up boys! In exactly one minute we will be engaging with two highly dangerous targets, whom of which have been confirmed as Void-Driven by King Blast. I'm dinnae gonna lie when I say this, it will be a tough fight, so stay focused and on target constantly!" The soldiers gave their commander a courageous 'hoorah!' and assumed their airdrop positions. A few tense seconds passed and then a green light flickered on in the cabin "go now!" yelled Remington and the squadron galloped out of the airship and into the cold night skies above Manehattan. As they descended they activated flare trails from the parachutes on their backs and opened the chutes to slow their fall. Benelli broke off from the group and landed on the roof of a building to set up her sniper nest. Remington continued to fly with his squadron, giving out orders as they fell "Pegasi! Take up positions on top of the shorter buildings and wait for either my or Concord's signal to fire! Earth Ponies and Unicorns, you're sticking with me once we hit the ground!" he barked and the Pegasus soldiers, who weren't using parachutes, flew down to reach the desired location.

Down below, Concord saw the flare trails and breathed a sigh of relief, help had arrived. Octavia unloaded the last few bullets in her minigun, but the stallion suspected she had more stowed in her coat, all the same he took this as an opportunity to take her by surprise. He picked up the hole-riddled wreck of a car he had hidden behind with his magic and threw it at Octavia, who was standing in the middle of the battle-torn street. The mare simply took the full brunt of the impact and crashed into the abandoned vehicles littering the road behind her. Vinyl suddenly removed her invisibility spell and leapt onto Concord's back to cover his eyes with some cloth. Concord wrestled Vinyl off and attempted to rip off the rag, only to find it seemed to have become glued to his helmet plating. He had no other choice but to retract it for now and risk fatal wounding, and so he did, letting the golden plates slide back into his neck. He readied his guns and charged towards Octavia, dodging the wild sprays of gunfire from her Thompson, and shoved her into the ground. "Stay down!" he yelled and clocked her square in the side of her head, knocking her unconscious. Vinyl saw this happen and for a moment her eyes became normal as she cried out "Octy!" before being consumed by the darkness once again. Just as she was about to blast Concord with a powerful beam of magic, a loud gunshot rang out from somewhere above them. Concord looked up and smiled when he saw a group of parachutes drifting down towards him, the cavalry had arrived. Remington touched down with his squadron and let rip a load of buckshot from his shotgun at Vinyl. "Bring her down lads!" he ordered and the group shot at the mare with everything they had. The Unicorn was too slow to react and took the full force of the attack, pushed to her knees by the constant barrage. Despite the brutal beating she was taking, the DJ managed to grab her speaker gun off of her back and turn it on, ready to unleash its devastating effect. A blue glow appeared in the muzzle and particles of magical energy were sucked out of the air and into the barrel. The fireteam kept shooting, bullet casings and empty cartridges clattering onto the tarmac like rain of brass. Vinyl Scratch smirked to herself when she saw her Bass Cannon was fully charged and began to howl with laughter, a laugh that made the squadron cease fire for a moment. Concord realized the danger they were suddenly in and yelled to his soldiers "get down!" Vinyl pressed the trigger and then, everything went silent.

Up in the skies, inside a gleaming white helicopter, Celestia and Luna cheerfully spoke with the mayor of Manehattan. "I must again thank you for coming out here on such short notice your highnesses" the mayor said thankfully "the pleasure is all ours my good sir" replied Luna happily. "Yes, quite. I'm sure that you will put our loan to good use in the coming months" Celestia said, referring to the loan of bits they had been discussing during the flight. Whilst her older sister and the mayor talked, Luna gazed out the window of the cabin, and noticed something rather strange down below. "Sister, take a look at this" she requested and Celestia leaned over to see what her younger sibling was talking about. The Sun Princess gasped when she saw the blue beam of energy tear through the streets beneath them, melting cars and vaporizing anypony who got in its path. "We'll have to continue this discussion at a later date, my apologies" Celestia said sternly and she warped herself outside of the helicopter. Luna did the same and the two sisters flew down to intervene in the battle.

Concord's eyes fluttered open and he hacked up blood, the force of the blast from Vinyl's gun had sent him crashing through a small building and he suspected he had sustained some internal injuries. Said mare was standing in the same place she had been seconds ago with her Bass Cannon glowing a hot orange. "You monster!" Concord yelled "you just killed hundreds of innocent civilians!" Vinyl laughed and picked up Octavia, who was just now regaining her consciousness, and spat at Concord. "Does it look like I honestly give a damn?" she asked snarkily and gestured to the molten remains of cars and ponies littering the street before him. "For a war veteran, you sure are soft!" Octavia jeered and she revved up her minigun, ready to fight anew. Concord grit his teeth and stabbed his sword into the ground "I'm not soft, but that doesn't mean I don't have compassion. Miss Melody, Miss Scratch, I know that somewhere beneath the twisted shells Darknia has created you still thrive. So what are you waiting for? Fight! Fight it!" For a brief moment, Octavia and Vinyl's fur changed to their original colours, as if they had heard Concord's cry, but all too quickly they were consumed by the darkness again. "They are gone Concord, and this time, the little trick you did with Lyra won't work at all! Unlike her, these two chose to bow unto my master" the two mares said in unison, in a voice that Concord recognized as a Void soldier. "Damn you, you foul spawn of the Void! I don't care what you say, but I will free those two from your filthy clutches!" the stallion roared. The dark spirit controlling Vinyl and Octavia just scoffed "and after that, then what? You can't convict a demon of a crime, but you can convict the ones it manipulated. And so, these two will die, regardless of whether or not you free them. Either way, you lose, and Master Darknia wins once again!" Concord bellowed in fury and rocketed towards the duo, his anger overtaking him.

Celestia and Luna were horrified with what they saw. The mutilated, molten wrecks of cars and the ashes of once-living ponies made them visibly sick. "What in the name of Tartarus happened here?" Celestia asked, shocked with what she was seeing, a question neither knew the answer to. They heard the sounds of gunfire and metal grinding against metal somewhere up ahead on the road, but they couldn't see who was creating it through the dense mist that had been created in the wake of the blast. "I swear, I will find out who did this, and I will make them suffer" Luna swore, committed to her goal. The younger Alicorn then abruptly charged onwards into the fog yelling a war cry in old Equestrian "brake van oren! Fight until death!" Celestia cried out for her sister to stop, only to receive silence as her answer. 'Looks like I have no choice, you can do this Celestia' the Sun Princess thought to herself and summoned her old war axe and battle armour, the same one she used to defeat King Sombra hundreds of years ago, and galloped into the fray.

Benelli had witnessed the entire event from her viewing point and was now extremely worried for the safety of her husband, Remington. "Honey come in! Please, please respond!" she yelled into her headset and choked up when all she heard was static, fearing the worst. Just when she felt all her hope drain away, the radio crackled into life and the raspy voice of Remington transmitted through the device into her waiting ear. "Don't worry love… I'll be fine, just a little battered that's all" he comforted and Benelli wept happily to herself. "You can't help Concord at this point, my advice is to pack up your gear and call for evac. I'll see you when I get home" Remington soothed and then shut off his radio. Benelli slowly removed her gun holder and slumped down against one of the air vents on the roof, it had been a stressful night, and all she wanted now was to go home.

Concord clashed his sword against Octavia's razor sharp cello bow, unfazed by the pain he was enduring from the beating he had taken from the duo. "Just die already!" Vinyl yelled and shot a few rounds at Concord, who broke off from Octavia to block the incoming fire. The stallion was having a hard time keeping an eye on either of the two, it was apparent he had gotten rather rusty with his combat awareness, he inwardly blamed it on his time inside the time vortex. Regardless, he managed to hold his ground and let off a circular expulsion of magical energy to push back his attackers. Vinyl responded with a powerful arc which struck Concord directly in the hind leg, the stallion screamed in pain as he felt the pain sear through his flesh. He crumpled to the ground and panted heavily, now struggling to find his breath. Octavia stood over him with her cello bow pointed at his chest menacingly. "What did I tell you, you can't free them Blast, give up!" she yelled and pierced the stallion's skin with the tip of the bow, Concord grunted in agony and writhed around madly. Octavia was just about to fully plunge her weapon into Concord's heart when out of nowhere charged a very angry Princess Luna "get away from him!" she yelled. The Alicorn tackled the cellist to the ground and bashed her jaw harshly "how dare you attack my fiance?!" Octavia was helpless and Vinyl tried to rescue her from the Princess' grip, only to be grabbed midair by a far stronger magical aura cast by Princess Celestia, who stood over Concord's bleeding body like a guardian angel. "The crimes you have committed today will not go unheard foul demon! I hereby grant you a physical form, but only so then you can be held accountable for your disgusting acts!" she judged righteously and her horn flared with power. The Void Possessor felt its grip on Vinyl and Octavia loosening and shrieked in fear as the connection was painfully severed. Celestia looked at the newly-formed blob of darkness she had wrangled from the mare, somewhat enjoying watching it writhe about in agony. Luna released the limp Octavia and walked over to her sister to aid in her spell.

A few seconds passed and the Possessor shrieked again as it felt its very being be twisted and shaped into the form of a regular pony "damn you! Damn you all to the Void!" she yelled and collapsed to the ground in her new body. Celestia and Luna loomed over the ex-Voidarian and smirked, content with the justice it had been served "the court of law shall deal with you accordingly. May the guardian of Tartarus have no mercy upon your soul, you disgusting wretch of a creature" Luna remarked and kicked dirt into the Possessor's eyes. Concord heard everything from where he lay on the street and he attempted to get up, cursing silently as he felt more pain tear through his flesh. The royal sisters heard his movements and rushed to his aid whilst the authorities were called by onlookers. "Concord! Are you alright?!" Luna pleaded and shook her fiance worriedly. Concord smiled and coughed "I'll walk it off, nothing a night in a restoration tank can't fix" he joked, but the sisters did not share his enthusiasm. "Let's get you back to your kingdom, you need help" Celestia advised and she carefully placed the frail stallion on her back. "The authorities will deal with those two and anypony else involved with this attack" Luna said, putting Concord at ease. The king suddenly felt faint and within seconds went out like a lightbulb, losing consciousness thanks to the blood loss he'd suffered.

The Lightnian Empire. 24 hours after the Manehattan Brawl.

"A restoration tank was a large cylinder filled with a gelatinous orange liquid, which had twice the healing power of a regular healing spell. It could heal almost any wound, the only exception being lost limbs. Concord was suspended in one such tank, a breathing mask secured to his muzzle so he could properly breathe in the liquid. Benelli, who was in charge of the medical wing, closely monitored her king's vital signs, writing down regular notes on her clipboard. Remington was also with her in the room with her, except this time he was confined to a wheelchair. "Read his report for me again, would you?" the red unicorn asked and he scratched the beard that was starting to grow on his muzzle. Benelli leafed through her document and found what she wanted, and read aloud. "Patient has suffered internal damage to the liver, spleen, spine, and throat. It has also been noted that the patient has sustained the breakage of the top three spinal bones and the jawbone. Expected time needed for recovery, pony type considered, is about two days." Remington sighed "sometimes I'm jealous of him you know? He could be brutally wounded, and simply walk it off in a few days. But for us, we have to live with our injuries, model our lives to accommodate them." Benelli understood what her husband was saying, Alicorns were notorious for their remarkable regeneration traits.

Speaking of Alicorn, Concord stirred in the tank and opened his eyes. Benelli tapped the glass and waved to her king happily, tapping an intercom to speak to him. "Glad to see you've recovered sir, how do you feel?" she asked hopefully and Concord stretched inside the tank, wincing a little as his back cracked and popped. "I'll take that as an 'all good'" she giggled, surprisingly optimistic despite the events last night. The mare handed Remington her clipboard and got ready to remove Concord from the tank.

The orange gelatin and the breathing mask was taken off of Concord's muzzle. A wheelchair was brought in for him to sit on and he was taken to his room to rest. He sat alone on his balcony overlooking his vast kingdom. In his absence the Empire had been repaired, the wall encircling the entire kingdom was now restored to its former glory, the railway to the outlying towns and villages had been rebuilt as well, defences had not only been repaired, but also increased with the addition of a city-wide bubble shield and a very powerful cannon installed inside the spire of the castle. Concord heard synthesized hoofsteps approach and spun around on his wheelchair to greet Arcania's holographic form. Arcania, when in her hologram body, was a white Unicorn with a pale blue mane and golden irises. Her Cutie Mark had been made for her, since she was an AI and not an actual living pony, it was an eye with faded lines of binary running across the lens.

"Looks like you can still use that hologram upgrade I gave you, funny, I can hardly recall you ever even used it in the old days" he reminisced "anyway, what's going on back in Manehattan? Have you followed the protocol?" Arcania simply showed her creator a live TV coverage of the aftermath, using a hacking software to link with the broadcast. "Unlike the last two times in Ponyville, sir, this won't go as unnoticed. The whole of Equestria is in chaos over this attack, and ponies are wanting answers" Arcania said sternly and Concord grumbled "of course they do".

"The citizens of Manehattan are shocked in the wake of the destructive battle that took place outside of the Concerto di Vita theater last night. Surviving eyewitnesses have reported that the ponies who caused the destruction used unknown forms of energy weapons, one of them even wielding an illegal magic sword. But unfortunately the trail of evidence ends there, Amidst the crossfire hundreds of innocent lives were destroyed. Stallions, mares and foals, all killed by the cataclysmic confrontation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the ones lost in the fight. Manehattan Mayor, Cursive Author, has released a statement this morning regarding the event."

The feed cut to a recording of the mayor's speech earlier that day, the stallion was standing atop a podium in front of a very angry crowd. "In the hours following this terrible event I, Mayor Author, have taken it upon myself and the Manehattan committee to not only provide the families of the deceased with adequate compensation, but to also ask that the one responsible for this tragedy makes him or herself known. We also request you turn yourself into the authorities immediately, or else your punishment will be much more severe."

"Cut the feed, cut the feed" Concord ordered dismissively and Arcania waved her hoof to deactivate the broadcast. "The situation seems dire sir, what do you intend to do now?" she asked and the prussian stallion sighed. "I don't know Arcania. I just don't know".

**Woo-wee! Wasn't that a doozy? I believe the correct phrase to use in a scenario like this is: 'and so the plot thickens'. I haven't really got much to say here, so I might as well end it off here for now. I'll see all you fine Crustaceans... IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**-WobbliestCrab**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, long time no see? I guess I should explain why there's been so much radio silence from me lately. But... I think that's something for the A/N at the bottom of the page. Speaking of that, see you there!**

The Light Kingdom Chronicles.

Chapter 16: The World's Revelation.

Lightnian Empire Docks: Saturday. 8:12am.

Concord's coat flapped in the coastal breeze as he stood alone on the dockland quay, his legs now supported by some high-tech framing since the damage from Manehattan was on the mend. A steam engine shunter chugged past with a long line of freight cars in front of it, taking them to have their cargo unloaded onto one of the ten warships docked in the bay. Today was quite important for the Empire, it was the day that they got ready for war with Darknia and her Void forces. A foreman pony galloped up to Concord and passed him a report, which he quickly read over and signed. "How is everything going with the fighter craft docking bays?" Concord asked, referring to the aircraft carriers' hangars. "We've loaded about 30% of the Sky Battalion without any major issues thus far, everything is progressing as it should your highness" the foreman said then took his clipboard and left. Speak of the devil, a small portion of the Sky Battalion roared overhead, easily distinguishable by the sparkling white paint and black accenting on their jets. Concord gave them a friendly wave and the pilot of the leading aircraft saluted in return, getting a smile from the Alicorn. The fighter jets banked off and flew out of sight towards the far end of the island to land. Concord's comlink buzzed, a call from Remington. "Sir, the railway war department is requesting you to oversee the final preparations of the Spearhead, I'm sure you know the way to the roundhouse" he said and Concord confirmed, he was planning to go there anyway.

Lightnian Railway Roundhouse.

The roundhouse served two purposes, acting as a bunker and an engine shed. There were ten berths in total, the railway only needed ten locomotives to run anyway. However a majority of them were empty today since the trains were needed for helping to do supply runs across the island. The only engine in the shed was a gold, white and blue steam locomotive. It had six drive wheels, four bogey wheels at the front and back, an eight-wheeled tender, a double-piped funnel, and a snowplough affixed to its buffer bar. The train was Concord's personal war machine, the Spearhead, one of the deadliest weapons the Lightnian Military had. The locomotive itself didn't run on coal and water like most other trains of its class, but rather a high powered reactor that used a large gemstone, which was of the same caliber to the one in Concord's armour disc, to provide power. Besides the engine, the Spearhead included ten passenger carriages that had been retrofitted for combat. Two of them acted as medical coaches, the next three in front of them held twelve anti-aircraft laser cannons, and the last five were customizable for certain types of operations, such as converting them to flatbed cars to transport equipment and supplies.

The work ponies toiled away against the boiler of the train, it had survived the 10'000 year wait thanks to a similar cryo-freeze system installed in the roundhouse. The morning sunlight entered the room through rectangular holes in the roof, creating slits of light that gave the slightly overgrown sheds a fantasy vibe. "How's my baby doing lads?" Concord asked excitedly and he flew up onto Spearhead's running board to inspect his train, running a hoof across her gleaming white boiler plates. "The old girl's a bit drowsy, she's gonna need a long run to wake up" the closest worker explained and she patted the engine affectionately. "Speaking of a run, we're just about to fire her up, care to do the honours?" Benelli suddenly called from the cab of the locomotive, she'd probably come there to provide aid for any injuries the workers sustained. Concord was ecstatic and he flew into the cab to start the train. "Check all cylinder valves! Activate the reactor! Release the brakes and open the regulator wide! Let's give this old thing a run she won't forget!" the stallion ordered as he zipped about the cab, Benelli simply laughing at his child-like behaviour. Steam escaped the exhausts pipes and billowed out of the engine's two funnels. The behemoth of iron hissed as she was woken from her sleep and crept forward sluggishly, her wheels protesting angrily as they moved for the first time in 10'000 years. "Come on old girl, time for a good stretch!" one of the workers called and he lowered a wall-mounted lever to open the berth's doors. A massive cloud of steam burst out of the door, giving the engine a dramatic exit whilst steaming out onto the turntable. The engine was turned so then it would be redirected onto the mainline. The workers bid their King farewell as he opened the regulator as wide as he could, to allow the train to reach its top speed. With a blast from its six-chime whistle, the Spearhead chugged off the turntable and out onto the mainline.

Some time later...

A few hours later, Concord had returned the Spearhead back to her shed and had retreated to his room to talk with Celestia. Remington and Benelli waited outside Concord's room, listening to the shouting match he was having with the princess over the phone. "I will not allow you to turn my country into a war zone!" the Sun Princess yelled and Concord quickly replied "and what? You'll just let Darknia come in and trample it into the dirt?!" "Unlike you we fight without guns and tanks, instead we will come to a peaceful conclusion through delegation, that's how we've always handled situations like this!" Celestia argued and Concord smacked his forehead angrily as he exclaimed sarcastically "oh sure, because words are going to change the mind of an evil overlord!" "You have no say in our affairs! So I suggest you keep your army and their fancy toys confined to that little island of yours! Good day sir!" Celestia yelled and she ended the call. Concord bellowed angrily and threw the phone at the wall in a fit of rage. Outside, Remington and Benelli exchanged worried looks, when Concord was in a bad mood, he could be very hard to reason with. Said Alicorn burst out of his room angrily and he stomped down the hallway. "Sir? Are ya alright?" Remington asked cautiously, ready for an angry outburst from his superior. But Concord retained some composure and replied through clenched teeth "I'm fine Remington, just a little ticked off by SOMEPONY'S insolence!" Remington chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I think it's best that we leave him alone for now, dear, he needs some time to calm down" Benelli whispered and her husband agreed. The two quietly made their exit as Concord turned away and trotted further down the hall.

Benelli returned to her laboratory and immediately got started on her research. In one of the restoration tanks, the Void Possessor from the Manehattan Brawl slept away in its catatonic state. "What secrets do you hold?" she thought aloud and summoned a team of scientists and doctors to her operating room. They extracted the dark creature from her holding cell, being careful as to not awaken her from the sleep she was having. Celestia and Luna had made fast work of her conversion into a pony, but the effects of the spell seemed to be wearing off, making a few of the scientists uneasy. "I need a syringe, fill it with a decent dosage of Arkos sedative" Benelli ordered and said tool was given to her. She held the syringe between her two front hooves and jabbed it into the Possessor's skin so she could administer the dose. A simple press of the button atop the device sent the green fluid flowing into the mare's sleeping body. "Now for the messy part" Benelli sighed and she went to put on her doctor's scrubs, as did the other scientists and medical staff. Sharp metal tools were brought out on a cart and Benelli made the first cut, beginning the operation.

A few hours passed and by the time Benelli was done, her rubber-gloved forehooves were smeared with an oily black liquid, the Possessor's blood. She removed her scrubs to wash up and dismissed the staff so she could analyze the samples alone. Once she was assured there was nopony else in the operating room, she took the first of five jars she had filled and stuck it into a machine to study it. The computer hummed for a moment whilst it analyzed the organs, and beeped once it had an answer for Benelli. The mare wasn't thrilled with the findings in the slightest. "They're changing, curious" she thought out loud and swapped the first sample with the following one, which bore the same results, a completely new genetic makeup. The mare quickly summoned Concord to the lab and he took at her evidence. "That also explains why we've never seen a Void-spawn like this one before, it's a whole new species" he mused and held up one of the jars to observe the writhing organs inside, still just as active when they were still inside their host. "We'll have to keep this in mind for future events. Darknia is preparing for war, just like we are. And from what info I'm getting from your extraction, the Possessor is probably one of many prototype Void-spawn we have yet to see and document" the King said sternly and he put the jar back down. Benelli was equally concerned "if she's making new Void-spawn, we're going to need to be ready for literally anything. Who knows what kind of monstrosity she'll think of next?" Concord didn't have an answer to his friend's question and chose to remain silent. "I'll get the R&amp;D staff to work on this immediately, as for you, see if you can find anything else that's new with the Possessor" the stallion said and then exited the lab, leaving Benelli behind to clean up her operating table and put her specimens into storage.

Canterlot Gardens: 3:00am (different time zone).

Luna was still dressed in her nightgown, a silky blue garment with star-shaped sequins near the edges. The princess of the night gazed out onto the horizon and drank her morning tea quietly, letting the sound of birds chirping and crickets buzzing sooth her tormented mind. She'd overheard Celestia and Concord's argument and was struggling with whom to side with. On one side she had her sister, who wanted to keep her country out of danger, and on the other she had her fiance who wanted to protect it from the very same threat. Either case was compelling and she knew she had to make the right choice soon. 'Why must fate be so cruel to us?' she thought poetically and sipped up the last of her tea. A butler came and took the cup and saucer away shortly after. A bell rang in the castle's nearby cathedral and the guard swapped places, the Lunar Guard standing next to Luna was swapped with a gold-clad Solar Guard and like the pony before him remained motionless. The princess stood up and stretched her wings, she decided a walk was in order to clear her head. She hailed the guard and he followed her as she trotted through the Canterlot Gardens, their hooves crunching on the dew-soaked grass beneath them. "Beg pardon ma'am, but I get the feeling that something is troubling you. May I ask what that might be?" the guard asked in a genuinely concerned voice. Luna sighed "tell me soldier, what would do? Forsake the wishes of your sibling in favour of supporting a close friend, or forsake love and side with your sibling over your lover?" The guard was puzzled and took a moment to think of an answer. "I'd forsake my sibling, it sounds harsh, but you have to do what your heart tells you to. When your lover needs help, it's your job as their partner to support them to the best of your abilities" he explained and Luna smiled "wisely spoken my good sir". The words echoed within the princess' head and she formulated an idea. She dismissed the guard and went to Celestia's room to speak her with her sister, an argument was coming together in her mind, one that would definitely change her sibling's opinion.

Celestia silently wrote away at her desk, intent on finishing her morning's work before she had to raise the sun. She too was still dressed in her nightgown and her mane wasn't flowing like usual, its colours were also a lot less prominent. She drank from her cup of morning coffee and grumbled to herself for the millionth time that morning, she hadn't been exactly thrilled with being woken up so early by Concord's call and the subsequent argument that followed it. The verbal war was still fresh in her mind, as was the anger she was holding back. Luna knocked at the door and Celestia opened it with her magic, not even bothering to take her eyes off of her work. "My apologies for the intrusion sister, but I need to speak with you about Concord" the younger Alicorn explained and Celestia sighed in frustration "there is nothing more to speak about, I am not allowing him to enter Equestria with his army". Luna huffed angrily, but kept her composure all the same, and rebutted "you're stubbornness in this situation is appalling. Concord is extending an offer to protect us, can you not see the kindness behind that? He's willing to deliberately sacrifice his own safety to ensure our own!" Celestia didn't seem to care and instead replied "his 'protection' is what will bring the war here! Don't you understand that anypony associated with him immediately becomes a target of hers?!" Despite the solid point her sister raised, Luna had the perfect comeback prepared "well then, if we are targets, wouldn't it be in our best interest to protect ourselves? And I think I know somepony who can do just that" she said slyly and Celestia's jaw dropped; outsmarted by her own sister?! Luna grinned smugly and drank the rest of the white Alicorn's coffee jeeringly before turning tail and trotting out of the room. Celestia stood in place, shocked with how easily her younger sister had outplayed her. Her shock soon changed to pride and the sun princess broke out into a cheerful laughter. She hailed for a messenger to take a note down for Luna to relay, regarding her newfound compliance with Concord's plans. 'Maybe I was wrong after all' she thought to herself and flopped onto her bed sleepily, the paperwork could wait for now, what she needed was a rest.

Back in the Empire, Concord was doing similar paperwork in his room, some music was playing quietly through a stereo to entertain him. Just as the news break came on, the room's wall-mounted phone rang and he levitated the receiver over to his ear. He paused his work to speak with the pony on the other end of the line. He didn't say much in the conversation, it was mostly one sided anyway, and hung up a shortly after. A grin appeared on his face and he began to chuckle, Celestia had seen reason apparently and had now given him allowance to enter Equestria with his military. Concord picked up his comlink and spoke to Remington excitedly. "Hey Remington, got some good news for you and the army, Celestia's just given us the green light. I want an airship sent to Canterlot immediately and two smaller ones patrolling the surrounding countryside, on the double" the king ordered. "Of course sir, I'll alert the captains immediately!" Remington replied and the line went silent. Concord soon heard propellers thundering outside his room and he stepped out onto his balcony to watch the procession. The first airship to leave was the Steel Guardian, the biggest zeppelin in the entire fleet, along with its smaller defense airships; the second and third were unnamed. The stallion tapped his comm link and connected to the zeppelin's radio frequency to wish them good luck. "Don't worry sir, with us defending Canterlot, Darknia won't even get close!" the captain said enthusiastically and he blasted the airship's foghorn loudly. Concord gave the soldiers on the open-air deck a wave, to which they all replied with cheers. "The squadron is away, anything else you want for now sir?" Arcania asked and Concord shook his head "let's not give Equestria two heart attacks at once!"

San Franciscolt History Museum, Daring Do's office.

The World-famous adventurer and author Daring Do sat at her desk with her laptop resting on her lap whilst she worked. Her newest novel - after getting approval from Concord - was about her trip to the Empire with Crypt and the subsequent discoveries she made. Speaking of Crypt, the grey Earth Pony mare bounded into her boss's office with a smart-tablet held in her mouth, showing a live news report.

"As you can see viewers: the whole of San Franciscolt is in chaos! Nopony knows why or how, but three massive, unidentified airships have just entered our city's airspace. All attempts of communicating with the captains of these vessels have been in vain, all we can do is watch. For now we'll tell you about the events as they unfold."

At that very moment, the sunlight coming through the skylight in Daring's office suddenly disappeared and the mares felt the ground start to shake beneath them. Crypt looked up through the glass roof and the tablet fell from her mouth when her jaw dropped in shock. The hull of the Steel Guardian would have easily taken up several city blocks, had it enough space to land, the monstrosity of a machine was truly a sight to behold. Daring Do leapt up from her desk and ran outside with Crypt following close behind. "Do you think they belong to Concord?" the assistant asked "I wouldn't put it past him Sandy!" Daring replied. Out of nowhere, a small group of fighter planes shot overhead, their screaming engines easily identifiable amongst the rumbling sounds of the three airships' engines. "What is going on? Are they here to attack us?" Crypt yelled as the sounds of the battle craft intensified. Daring Do didn't reply, she was in far too much shock to give a reply. A horde of police cars and SWAT vans drove past, law enforcement personnel hanging out of the windows with their guns at the ready, one of them even had a laser guided rocket launcher! The two archaeologists stood on the sidewalk in amazement, continuing to watch the cruisers' journey in awe.

As the Steel Guardian and her smaller brothers stayed their course towards Canterlot, they garnered quite a following from the ponies on the ground below. One of these ponies in particular was Twilight Sparkle as she rode aboard an express train back to Ponyville after a long series of meetings in Canterlot. "What in the name of Celestia are those?!" Spike asked and he chewed his claws fearfully. Twilight grabbed a book out of her satchel and flipped through it madly, trying to find something to explain the situation, eventually coming up with nothing. Then she noticed the symbol painted onto the armoured container holding the Steel Guardian's hydrogen bags, it was Concord's. "It's Concord! What's he doing here?!" Twilight blurted and immediately she clamped her hooves over her mouth when she realized what she'd just said. The other ponies inside the carriage shot her a combination of concerned and accusing looks. Once again the squadron of jet fighters soared overhead, this time though they were accompanied by a group of Pegasi dressed in very familiar blue and yellow flight suits. A random passenger cried out "the Wonderbolts?" and Twilight looked at the lead flyer, and nearly fainted when she laid eyes upon Rainbow Dash in her new Wonderbolt Combat Flight suit. 'What on earth is going on?!' the princess thought and continued to watch the events unfold.

The zeppelins soon flew within range of Canterlot, that's when they encountered their first issue, docking. The castle hangars were only big enough to hold a few of their fighter jets, but there was no way they'd be able to land the Steel Guardian or her escorts in it. Thankfully the castle did have an airship dock, but even so it was still far too small to fit the Steel Guardian. And so the crew improvised, casting out docking ropes to guide the ship into a suitable position. The captain of the Steel Guardian, High Flyer, turned on the loudspeaker and requested for aid in docking the airship. A couple of Royal Guards took up the ropes and with some help from nearby civilians, managed to tow the cruiser into port. Gang planks were extended out onto the ground and the unloading of the Steel Guardian's hold began immediately. Whilst the work was being carried out, a large crowd of curious ponies formed around the craft and a couple of Lightnian soldiers formed a fence around the perimeter. Celestia had seen the arrival of the Steel Guardian and had donned her old military uniform, a white military suit with her Cutie Mark stitched onto the pocket and she had her mane woven into a braid. The Princess was escorted down to the airship docks to greet the newcomers, she had to show her subjects that the Lightnians were on their side.

High Flyer yelled out orders to his crew "extend the ramps! Airlift those war trains! Let's move ponies!" He heard Celestia's approach and bowed courteously "thank you for allowing us the honour of defending your country, Princess Celestia". The Sun Princess smiled warmly and said "the pleasure is all mine captain" and the two shook hooves. There was a loud clattering sound and High Flyer whipped around to see that one of the crew members, wearing an large work exoskeleton, had dropped a large crate of laser rifles. "What are these for?" Celestia asked and she levitated one of the guns towards her to inspect it. "They're for your guards, Concord told us that they needed an upgrade" High Flyer explained and Celestia's guards scoffed, not exactly delighted with their honour being insulted. "Of course, the guns are just part one of the process. In a few days we'll be dishing out some new armour for them, designed by a 'Rarity Belle' I believe" High Flyer added and the guards seemed to become interested, they had been watching the Lightnian soldiers whilst they had been standing guard, and had become enraptured by their collapsible armour. "Well then, I must send my regards both to your king and Miss Belle. I best be off as well, and again, thank you for coming so quickly" Celestia thanked and left the docks to return back to her castle. High Flyer waved the princess goodbye and focused back on his work "alright boys, we ain't got time for slacking! Let's get this stuff unloaded ASAP!"

Sometime later, back in the Lightnian Empire, Concord prepared himself for what was about to come. He combed his mane and cast a beard-growing spell, he'd always liked to have a little bit of facial hair. His donned his royal cape, a silky silver cloak with gold trimming and the Lightnian Empire's crest stitched into the center. He activated his armour into pre-complete form and had a cleaning crew come in to polish it until it sparkled. "May the sun shine upon you sir, we wish you the best of luck" the cleaners said and bowed unto their king ceremoniously, Concord signaled for them to rise a moment later. The stallion trotted out onto his balcony and Arcania flickered into her holographic form to stand with him. "You are taking a great risk in doing this sir, I hope you know what it is you are doing" the AI said concernedly and her creator grinned "trust me Arcania, it's time we reveal ourselves to the world. Give me a moment to prepare". Arcania retreated back into the room to wait and left Concord out on the balcony in the night air. The stallion swiveled his ears and heard the sounds of the ocean crashing against the rocks in the bay behind the castle, the melody of engines and horns blaring as ponies made their nightly commute, the endless thumping noises of helicopter as they buzzed through the sky, and the clanking of metal as his androids patrolled the lamp-lit streets. The whole city beneath him was lit up like a blanket of stars, lights disappearing one moment and reappearing the next in an endless cycle of activity. Truly the Alicorn was proud of the kingdom he ruled, his whole life had been dedicated to building it and defending it from those who wished to see it fall back to the earth it came from. That was why he needed to do this, so then others would consider joining his cause to help defeat Darknia and her forces of evil. Concord turned to Arcania and nodded "I'm ready. Let's begin".

All over the globe, ponies were both settling in for the night and awakening for the day ahead. As they turned on their televisions, radios, mobile phones, or looked to a billboard, they could see news broadcasts relating the previous day's events. The airships in Equestria had certainly created quite the racket since their arrival to the mainland, almost every news station in the world was trying to get an interview with the captains. But tonight, they'd be getting their answers from a completely different source. A brief stint of static plagued the devices for a moment before the bearded, stern and silent face of Concord flickered into life as Arcania roped in the channels.

"Ponies of the free world! I am Concord Blast, King of the Lightnian Empire; the Light Kingdom! For thousands of years our civilization has been hidden beneath the dust of the past! But today we shake off the dirt of the ages and start anew! A war is brewing as we speak, and it will be a destructive one when it is fully unleashed! Darknia and her army of the Void Forces are advancing this very moment, and soon they'll be kicking down our doors unless we do something! That something is called uniting, a pooling of strength between all of the great states to combat this threat. That is why I am here, to call upon your support so that we may fight this nemesis together and win the war before it even starts! Think upon this leaders, but I urge you to hurry, the darkness doesn't wait"

All over the globe, media outlets, online chat rooms, news stations and printing presses exploded simultaneously with stories regarding the sudden event. The governments of the world were also in a state of confusion, unsure about what to do with the current situation. Equestria was in strife. the inhabitants of Ponyville were panicking and groups of angered citizens gathered on the stairs outside of the town hall, all demanding answers from the mayor. Said mare's security guards did their best to control the crowds and the police department's riot squadron was put on standby in case things got ugly. From the balcony of her humble abode, Lyra observed the writhed masses as they yelled and jeered, and became slightly uneasy. "Don't bother getting involved with this one Lyra, you're lucky to have gotten parole this time around" Bon Bon advised when she trotted out onto the alcove to join her friend. After the battle Lyra had with Concord when she was under Darknia's influence, the Ponyville Police Department had sentenced her to a year of home imprisonment; thankfully they had been kind enough to give her parole since she herself hadn't committed the attack, per-say. Lyra drooped her head, her friend was right; despite the fact she was part of the mayoral council, this was out of her league. Bon Bon handed her friend one of the two drinks she was carrying and then went back downstairs to continue making the batch of candies she had been working on. There was a crackle of thunder somewhere in the skies above, and so Lyra retired to her room to escape the coming storm.

Whilst the rain bucketed down outside, Remington barked out orders to the ground units to get everything ready. He'd tagged along with the airships to ensure the operation went as smoothly as possible. "Let's get the barricades offloaded and set up around the town square! After that I want the Sappers to begin fortifying the roads and railway lines outside of town! Let's move it ponies!" he yelled and went about with helping the soldiers unpack. Tents popped up rapidly all around town square and the medical teams quickly filled them with medical equipment, being told what to do by Benelli, who was communicating with them via an android. A host of ponies gathered around the center of town, they were not exactly thrilled with the newcomers' presence. "What's the big idea?! Get out of our town! Go away!" they yelled and attempted to push through the line of soldiers encircling the area, but their efforts were pointless against the incredibly strong armour they wore. Things started to get heated when ponies started throwing rocks at the troops and tried getting over them by using the rooftops. All of a sudden there was three loud cracks of a shotgun firing and everypony stared at Remington in fear, said pony was holding a smoking combat shotgun in his magical aura. A megaphone was handed to him by one of his assistants and he spoke into it authoritatively. "Attention! Citizens of Ponyville, this is a military operation that has been given clearance by your own ruler, Princess Celestia! We have no ill intent and only wish to keep you safe, as with all of Equestria and the free world. So, we ask simply for your acceptance and cooperation, that is all" Remington boomed and the crowds died down. The townspeople started to disperse and the commander breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright boys! That's the green light for us! Double time it!" he barked and stamped his hooves.

Ponyville was completely fortified by the time morning arrived the next day. Guards patrolled the outskirts of the settlement and the Wonderbolts monitored the skies from Cloudsdale. An armoured train was also put on standby at a nearby outpost, which had been built over the railway line leading out of the town. Artillery cannons dotted the open plains surrounding the town, along with a copious amount of residential tents that the soldiers slept in. Concord, Celestia and Luna had all come to inspect the finishing touches on the fortification process, the latter two were a little unnerved by it all. "Are you sure this is necessary?" the sun princess asked concernedly, Concord indulged her a bit. "Ponyville is located near the coast of Equestria, common knowledge for most, but for others it means something else entirely. The coastline is one of the most important locations to control during a war, you can use it as a base, an export center, or a staging point. If Darknia captured Ponyville, she'd be able to launch attacks directly from the coast and subsequently gain territorial control over the mainland". Luna thought for a moment and then remembered something "what about cities like Manehattan and San Franciscolt?" Concord sighed and explained that also. "Our forces and supplies may be vast, but they're not big enough to ensure a solid defense of two major cities; perhaps one at best. All we can do is be ready to launch a counteroffensive if either are attacked". The three spoke nothing more about the subject until reaching town hall, where they were to speak with some of Equestria's leading officials.

The hall was packed when the royals arrived, ponies from all over the country had come to speak with Concord. Among those attending were Twilight Sparkle and the rulers of the Crystal Empire, Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband Shining Armour - Concord had learned earlier that the latter was Twilight's older brother. Concord trotted into the chamber and took off his coat, revealing the activated armour lying beneath it. While some of the attendees were visibly disturbed by the device, others seemed intrigued. Celestia and Luna took their seats with Cadence and Twilight before the meeting began.

"Before we formally begin this delegation, I apologise for the attire! But understand that it is for both my safety and the safety of others that I wear it!" the stallion yelled apologetically, he had to raise his voice due to the room's scale. "Anyhow! Let us commence! As of today - the Eighth of Novenbarr, 1264 - the Lightnian forces have begun their defense of Ponyville. And while this is a step in the right direction, I believe that we will need the support of other states in order to maintain a constant defence of the continent. That is the reason why you are gathered here this morning. First off, this will mean you will become an enemy of Darknia, and your lives will be put at risk. Secondly, I will require your full devotion to the cause, if I say jump, you WILL say: 'how high?' And thirdly, whatever form of military you already have will be grafted into mine; a larger force equates to higher chance of success in my opinion. Now this may sound like me wanting to basically take over all of Equestria; but I can assure that as soon as this war ends, you will be discharged from the Lightnian body and will be allowed to continue your lives as per usual."

Somepony in the crowd raised their hoof to ask a question. "That sounds all fine and well, but what I want to know is: how long is this war expected to last anyway?" Concord thought for a moment and had Arcania do some quick math inside his suit. Once he got a result, he presented it to the gathering. "Thanks to my AI companion, I have an answer to your question. Taking into account how Darknia can form new troops almost instantly, coupled with her seemingly-limitless power reserves and instantaneous portal transport, this war could take roughly between ten to twenty years. That number rises exponentially when you take into account of my Empire's equally limitless resources, android soldiers, and military power. The total time for the conflict to end, has then risen to over fifty years".

A wave of horrified gasps washed through the crowd, it was almost deafening. "You can't expect us to fight for fifty years! There's no way we'd be able to keep going for that long!" yelled one of the attendees. Concord smirked and started to laugh, the noise changed from gasps to questioning hums. "What's so funny?" the representative for Manehattan demanded bitterly. "It's just how you guys are reacting to it. It's almost as if you think fifty years is a long time for a war!" Concord exclaimed and added uproariously "I remember back in the day, wars went on for three times that! Me and Darknia actually had truces every few years so we could regain our strength! And even then, our battle went on for over a thousand years!" The whole room went silent as Concord bust his sides laughing. "You think this is a joke?! And here I thought you, an Alicorn, would be a sensible individual!" jeered the representative for Appleloosa. The hall went into an uproar, ponies started to bicker amongst themselves about whose side they were on. Celestia and Luna groaned in frustration, this meeting was getting nowhere fast. The arguments dragged on for several minutes until, something snapped. "QUIET!" Princess Cadence bellowed, using the power of the Royal Voice to amplify the volume of her speech. Just as she commanded, the whole conference hall went dead silent, to the point where one would be able to hear a pin drop.

"Look at you! Acting like foals! So what if this war goes on for as long as Mister Blast says it could? We Equestrians have always come out on top during times of seemingly insurmountable odds, and I don't intend for that trend to stop now! In saying that, I, Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, pledge my allegiance to the Light Kingdom and its ruler, Concord Blast!"

In either admiration or fear of Cadence, other ponies started to raise their hooves. Concord was pleased to see the turnout, a great majority of the crowd had chosen to side with him, those who had decided against the idea remained as they were with their hooves down. "Thank you Miss Cadenza, your devotion is greatly appreciated" Concord thanked with a smirk "the same can also be said for those who have their hooves raised right now, expect nothing short of peak performance from my soldiers. Your provinces are in safe hooves, I assure you". The conference appeared to be over and ponies began to take their leave, Concord remained where he was. Remington, who'd been waiting outside, trotted into the hall with Benelli. "Looks like you won them over. What was it this time: your 'natural charm', or a smoking gun barrel?" the medicine mare sarcastically asked, they all got a little chuckle out of that. "I would like to say my obvious charm was what got them to join, but I think we all owe it to Miss Cadenza for our success today" the king said thankfully, glancing briefly at the Crystal Princess. The aforementioned royal was speaking with Celestia, Luna and Twilight.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" Twilight pleaded, she felt quite worried for her sister-in-law. Cadence rubbed the smaller mare's head affectionately and said comfortingly "I have no doubt that your friend will let us down, he appears to know what he's doing". Twilight was still somewhat skeptical about the whole situation; despite having experience with combat to some degree, she'd never been involved with an actual war like the one Concord had outlined. "Hey! If all else fails, at least you'll have me to protect you!" quipped Shining Armour, the mares snickered among themselves. "I'm sure you will!" his wife agreed satirically, rolling her eyes dramatically for effect. Whilst the snow-white stallion slunk away in embarrassment, Concord went up to Luna to speak with her.

"Been awhile since we spoke face to face, huh?" the prussian blue stallion asked with a smile. "Yes, it has" Luna agreed meekly, Concord picked up on her tone as one of discomfort. "Something bothering you?" he asked worriedly, the mare was hesitant to reply "I've just felt a little off lately, probably just all the stress I've been put under to uphold my duties." Concord suddenly pressed a gentle hoof to her temple and went still for a moment, he was feeling her pulse. "Yup, just as I thought. You've got a bad case of anxiety and high blood pressure. Take a few days to a week off, it'll do you some good" he advised, silently thanking himself for remembering his field medicine practices. Luna seemed skeptical "are you sure? How will Tia be able to handle both of our duties?" Concord was confident in the sun princess' abilities, which he informed his fiance of thoroughly. "She's done it before, she can do it again" he reasoned "just have some rest, for me, okay?" The moon princess nodded and nuzzled Concord's chest affectionately, before leaving with her older sister to return to Canterlot. Twilight went with them to reclaim some of the documents she'd accidentally left in her room at the castle. However, Cadence and Shining Armour stayed behind; apparently their return train had encountered some mechanical problems and needed to be repaired.

"So… where can I get some armour like yours?" Shining suddenly asked, Concord was admittedly a little offended by the question. "I don't think you understand, you can't just 'get' armour like this. This set was custom made, built to my exact specifications by my own two hooves, and raw magic. Every inch of metal, every strand of fiber, every circuit and control chip, is in the exact place I want them to be! This armour is, and always will be, the true perfection of technology!" he exclaimed with outstretched wings, flames almost seemed to be dancing about in his eyes. Shining Armour didn't know how to respond to such enthusiasm and just nodded meekily. "Well at least he has spirit" Cadence whispered to her husband, the two could both agree on that. The Crystal Princess decided to move onto a more demanding topic. "When can I expect to see your troops arrive?" Cadence asked and Concord quickly gave her the details. "They should be at your kingdom by this time next week, it could take less time if the weather is on our side during transport. From what I remember of my brief stay at the Crystal Empire during 4560 BNM, you guys had a serious blizzard problem". "Well, things have changed since then. We haven't had any snow since Sombra was defeated" Shining Armour corrected. Concord remembered Sombra, he was once his friend, that however was before the Crystal King had been corrupted by Darknia's influence - of course, nopony else knew that part of the story. "Well that should make things easier. But just to be safe, I'll be sending the delivery train out with a snowplough" Concord informed. Shining Armour checked his watch and nudged his wife "the mechanics should be done fixing the train by now sweetheart, let's go". Cadence nodded and said goodbye to Concord.

A few minutes passed, Remington and Benelli took their leave early to return to the Empire. Concord sat on one of the council seats and idly played some television through his armour. 'How can anypony enjoy this? It's so unrealistic' his brain commented on the reality program he was watching. "Yes, it is rather stupid isn't it? They're trying so hard to be convincing, but it's so obvious that what they're doing is completely unrealistic!" whispered a voice. Concord sprung out of his seat with his guns raised "who was that?! Show yourself!" he demanded. He heard shuffling sounds coming from the shadows and aimed his weapons. From the darkness emerged a figure, it was Darknia, and she seemed a lot less spectral than last time.

"How did you get here?!" Concord asked angrily and charged his cannons. The dark mare didn't seem to be fazed by the danger and replied in a know-it-all tone "the shadows are my gateways to this world. It's a shame that I can't use them to get into your empire though, your magic is far too much trouble for me to attempt bypassing". "Spare me the details whack-job! Why don't you take one of your fancy gateways so you can get out of my sight?!" Concord jeered, Darknia just sighed in frustration. "The only reason I allow you to be my enemy is because you are worthy of my attention, but speaking like that makes me think otherwise" she crooned flatly. Concord grumbled to himself and retracted his guns. "I saw you talking with Luna, I think she informed you of what I said to her earlier?" Darknia asked and the stallion grumbled some more. "You best not forget my promise. Keep this up and it will be Ecliptic all over again" the mare taunted, Concord grunted when he heard the mention of Ecliptic.

When Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon, it wasn't because of jealousy for her sister, but rather Darknia finally breaking her mind. Over the course of many years the dark queen had visited the Moon Princess in her slumber, taking the form of ponies she cared for the most. In each dream she would endlessly torture Luna, using the most painful methods known to ponykind. It took a while but soon Darknia had broken the princess' mind, it was only after Concord's disappearance that she made her move. Mere days after the end of the Lightnian vs Void war, Luna transformed into the monster known as Ecliptic, or as most modern ponyfolk called her, Nightmare Moon.

"If you much as lay a hoof on her, I'll doom you to a fate worse than Tartarus!" Concord threatened, once again he found Darknia completely unfazed. "And here I had hoped to engage in a more civilized conversation, I'll be seeing you soon, your highness" she leered before merging back into the shadows behind her. Concord felt his chest lighten up when the dark queen disappeared and breathed heavily. "I will keep her safe! Count on it!" Concord roared and smashed a nearby desk into splinters. The commotion could be heard from outside and a few passerby looked at the building in worry. Concord smashed another desk in fury, Darknia's words had hit him where it hurt most. "I'm gonna kill that wretch!" he proclaimed and stamped his hooves. Rain began to fall and the sky grew dark, as if nature was experiencing Concord's emotions as well. But, it also seemed to coincide with the grim times that Equestria was now entering. The country was about to go to war.

**So - lads and lasses - I have a slight conundrum that has been persisting as of late. It's a little thing called 'lack of interest' and I have unfortunately contracted this disease. Chapter 16 will probably be the last chapter of TLKC for a while, as I intend to publish other stories here soon. Besides that, school has been a major factor in my loss of interest. MLP just doesn't seem to have the charm I once thought it did, I don't know if that's because I stopped watching it six months ago, or simply because I've drifted out of the fandom. Either way. I want to thank all of you for your support, each review warmed my heart (including yours PrincessCrab) and I can't thank you enough. Maybe in a few months, maybe even years, I'll return to TLKC and finally finish it. But for now, I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading the Light Kingdom Chronicles as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**That said, I hope you'll all enjoy what I've got in store, here's to the future of WobbliestCrab's fanfictions! *raises glass***

**Thank you, every single one of you...**

**-WobbliestCrab**


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